EXCLUSIVE
A family wrongly accused by a restaurant of not paying for a $364 Christmas lobster dinner has revealed the devastating impact of a subsequent hate campaign on social media.
Food influencers Jennifer Do and her daughters, Julie and Belinda Nguyen, have been subjected to more than three years of abuse, including threats that they would be raped and murdered.
Belinda lost her corporate job, Julie was forced to install surveillance cameras in her home, and her mother Jennifer was harassed at her local Westfield shopping center.
All three said they lost hair, gained weight and suffered from depression so severe that they considered taking their own lives.
“It’s been a nightmare for us every day,” Julie told WhatsNew2Day Australia. “An absolute living nightmare.”
A family wrongfully accused by a restaurant of not paying for a $364 lobster dinner has revealed the devastating impact of a hate campaign on social media. From left to right are mother Jennifer Do and sisters Belinda and Julie Nguyen.
Last week, the trio finally received an apology from the restaurant that made false claims about what happened when they dined at upscale Silver Pearl restaurant in south-west Sydney on December 25, 2020.
That night the three women and Jennifer’s then partner, Son Nguyen, went to the Cabramatta establishment to celebrate Christmas with a seafood meal.
They ordered two lobster dishes, one cooked in XO sauce and another prepared sashimi style, but when the food arrived at their table, Son said the latter tasted “bad” and began to feel sick.
The group called a waitress, who spoke to their manager, but the problem could not be resolved and the family left the restaurant without eating, having paid for a $40 bottle of red wine that they consumed.
According to Julie, no one tried to stop the group from leaving, but they were told never to return. Police were not called to the scene.
The group then crossed the street to Barluck seafood restaurant, where they spent $500 on a lobster dish.
CCTV footage shows Jennifer Do, her then-partner Son Nguyen and her sisters Julie and Belinda Nguyen speaking to staff at the Silver Pearl Chinese restaurant, where they were wrongly accused of not paying for a lobster meal.
At the time, the sisters were part-time food bloggers, posting photos and reviews of foods they had enjoyed, as well as collaborating with other businesses, including fashion designers.
Julie said none of the sisters wrote a review of their experience at Silver Pearl “or spoke ill of it to anyone.”
The family didn’t give the night another thought until about 48 hours later, when Julie, Belinda and their mother received direct messages from Silver Pearl on Instagram.
The restaurant claimed the family had falsely accused them of serving frozen lobster instead of fresh, and suggested they had faked food poisoning.
‘Even after you complained, you STILL CONTINUED eating the sashimi that supposedly made you feel bad,’ said Silver Pearl. ‘Not only did you continue eating it, you FINISHED IT.
‘We consider this type of behavior to be dishonest and classless.
“We demand that you pay the outstanding bill of $364 or we will take this matter to the police and publicly name and shame your family with photos included for this terrible behavior.”
The restaurant then carried out the embarrassing part of its threat.
Three days after the family left Silver Pearl, the restaurant posted a warning on social media reading “Beware of scam diners” with a photo of the three women. The man on the right is not Son Nguyen.
In an Instagram post titled ‘WARNING: SCAMMER ALERT’ and ‘Beware of FRAUDULENT DINERS,’ Silver Pearl publicly repeated the allegations against the three women.
“Belinda, Julie and Jennifer, we are disappointed in your dishonest and fraudulent behavior,” the post said.
“This is totally classless behavior and we hope $364 is worth tarnishing your reputation.”
The restaurant posted photographs of the women (plus a man who was not Son) and their Instagram accounts, as well as a CCTV image of them in the restaurant.
Julie said the reaction on social media was immediate, brutal and relentless.
Belinda worked in project management and had 70,000 Instagram followers, Julie was a corporate analyst with 14,000 followers, and Jennifer had a small social media presence.
Trolls sent women hundreds of messages, calling them bitches, whores, shits, idiots, rats, scum, sluts and transsexuals. They were compared to sex dolls and escorts.
Trolls sent women thousands of messages, calling them bitches, whores, shits, idiots, rats, scum, sluts and transsexuals. They were also compared to sex dolls and prostitutes.
“You morons and your fucking retarded parents have been doing this to everyone,” one stranger wrote.
‘You’re a disgusting creep. He scum. !!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! Or I’ll drag your damn wig to the store so you can pay for your damn meal. Idiots.’
Another wrote: ‘Pay your bill at Silver Pearl you f***ing fake.’ I traced your IP address and found your home address.
On Instagram: ‘You better watch out you ugly bitch… the gangs are coming to gang rape you.’
On Facebook: ‘Can we have permission to kill these animals? I hate people like that, with a strong passion.’
After two weeks of public smearing, Belinda lost her job. Julie no longer felt safe in her own home and installed surveillance cameras. Jennifer’s relationship with Son finally ended.
“Once something goes viral, it’s like poison,” Julie said. ‘We feel helpless in the situation. It was very traumatic.
‘They said they would physically beat my mother if they saw us in the Cabramatta area. That they hurt us physically, that they spit on us.’
Jennifer Do (right) and her food influencer daughters, Julie (left) and Belinda Nguyen (center), have been subjected to more than three years of abuse, including threats that they would be raped and murdered.
The online abuse was quite serious, but all three women were threatened in public.
‘Mum was harassed by a lady in her local Westfield. Mom said, “Hello, can I help you?” The lady said, “I saw you on TV, you’re the lobster scammer.”
‘We have to be subjected to this question every day: why did they steal the lobster from this establishment?
“There were thoughts of suicide due to the extreme humiliation and hatred of being accused of being a lobster scammer.”
Julie said the buildup eliminated job opportunities and any chance of a relationship.
“People ask me why I’m single, but every time I go out with someone they mention this,” she said.
Almost 12 months after their visit to Silver Pearl, the women launched a defamation action in the Federal Court against the restaurant and, after attempts at mediation, the case was set for trial in October this year.
The case was dismissed after the parties reached a private settlement out of court, without Silver Pearl admitting wrongdoing or paying damages.
On March 28, the restaurant returned to social media, this time with an apology to Julie, 31, Belinda, 25, and her mother, Jennifer.
On March 28, the restaurant posted an apology to the three women. “We are aware that the posts gained significant traction and caused pain and embarrassment to Jennifer, Belinda and Julie.”
Silver Pearl insisted in that statement that there was nothing wrong with the lobster he served the women and that his seafood was fresh.
“However, we accept that on December 28, 2020, we published a post about Jennifer, Julie and Belinda.” she said.
“We now recognize that none of them ate lobster and it was only Jennifer’s partner who did. We recognize that they paid for the wine.
‘We are aware that the posts gained significant traction and caused pain and embarrassment to Jennifer, Belinda and Julie.
“It was never our intention for the matter to come to such a head, and we are empathetic to them for any harm our publication may have caused.”
Julie said the apology was welcome but the women were still distraught.
“We’ve been through some tough times,” he said. ‘We all struggle with our mental health.
‘We are still harassed and cursed at by people who thought we were lobster scammers or fraudulent diners.
‘We will never have the same confidence in public. “We live in fear because threats still stalk us.”
The three women were trying to put their lives back together now that the restaurant had said it was sorry for what happened to them.
Julie runs a tutoring business and is studying immigration law, while Jennifer volunteers at St Vincent de Paul and Belinda has taken up rapping as music therapy.
“The apology means more than any amount of money – it gives us some relief,” Julie said.
‘The apology means everything because at least we have something to show to employers, to the public, to the people around us who know us personally.
“You can’t put a price on his dignity or his integrity.”
Lawyers acting on behalf of Silver Pearl told WhatsNew2Day Australia that Julie, Belinda and Jennifer’s legal action had been resolved “amicably”.
“Silver Pearl would like to reiterate its commitment to providing excellent service to all customers and maintaining a positive relationship with the community,” they said.
“We affirm that Silver Pearl remains dedicated to maintaining its reputation for integrity and respect.”