A western-style restaurant had to apologize after it collected an extra one yuan (US$0.12) for luck in the city of Shantou in eastern Guangdong Province on Wednesday.

Shantou resident surnamed Hu lunched at the restaurant on Wednesday. She was charged 78 yuan (about US$10) while the bill showed Hu had consumed food worth 77 yuan (US$9.9), the Shantou Metropolis News said

The restaurant later explained that it had collected the extra yuan because seven is not considered a lucky number in the local dialect, while the word for eight is similar to that meaning rich.

Hu refused to buy the explanation and called the local administration of industry and commerce for help.

The restaurant then apologized and refunded the extra one yuan to Hu.

By Sun Tzu on 06-11-2006