What stinks? Car dealer's fishy payment

SINGAPORE - A luxury car dealer in Singapore complained on Thursday (Nov 6) that his showroom smelled like a market after an "unhappy" customer paid him the equivalent of R169 000 in coins smelling of fish.

Tang Siu Tong, owner of Exotic Motor, said the customer dumped nearly 100kg of coins on his showroom floor after being ordered by a court to pay the dealer the amount.

The customer, businessman Lester Ong Boon Lin, lost a lawsuit over the costs associated with consigning his Aston Martin V8 Vantage to the showroom to sell it.

'STANK UP THE WHOLE PLACE'

Tong told AFP: "He did this deliberately because he was unhappy. The coins were soaked in market juices and smelled of fish. It stank up the whole place and I had to hire professionals to get rid of it but the smell is still there.

"I'm keeping the coins in 10 separate bags... my lawyers are arranging to have it returned, I am definitely not going to accept it."

Tang said the coins included five, 10, 20 and 50c denominations. There were also Malaysian and Thai coins.

Ong, the customer, told local tabloid The New Paper he decided to settle the amount in coins because he was upset with Tang.

Ong: "Was I too much? I was really unhappy with his business practice and I paid the amount in full. So, no."

Staff members said one of Ong's employees used a trolley to deliver a styrofoam box filled with coins and smelling of fish. CCTV footage showed Ong dumping the coins from the box on the showroom carpet before leaving the premises.

NOT THE FIRST COIN-DROP

Ong's outburst was the second incident in November 2014 involving the payment of a large amount in coins.

The owner of a cellphone store was lambasted online by Singaporeans earlier in November 2014 after he refunded a Chinese tourist the equivalent of more than R8000 in coins after a claims tribunal ruled against his shop.

Under Singapore's Currency Act, coin can't be used for payments over a certain amount.