Dalian restaurant tiff ends with apology

A worker at a restaurant who had been forced to quit a job after picking up 20,000 yuan ($2,872) aroused heated discussions on social media over the weekend.

The local market supervisory authority in the Xigang district of Dalian, Liaoning province, said on Monday that an investigation had been conducted and concluded that the worker, surnamed Song, did not try to pocket the money she had picked up.

After the investigation, the head of the restaurant company apologized and Song accepted.

Earlier, on Saturday evening, the restaurant released a video claiming that Song handed in the money and two days later tried to take it back in an attempt to keep it. The matter was then reported to the police. The restaurant said Song, an employee of an outsourcing company, quit her job voluntarily after the company leveled accusations.

On Sunday, Song said in an interview that she had no intention of keeping the money for herself and that it was actually she who called the police.

Departments of the Xigang district government set up a special team to investigate the incident on Sunday.

According to the Xigang market administration, the person in charge of the third party cleaning company mishandled the communication with Song, inducing Song to resign. The district said it would assist her in finding a new job.

It also said that the internal management of the restaurant involved was not in place and staff members who made improper remarks during the course of the incident will be seriously dealt with.