A man in China who walked out on a blind date, leaving the woman to pay for him and her 23 relatives now faces being sued.
The man was identified in local reports as Mr Liu and reportedly found his prospective partner, Ms Zhang, through a matchmaker.
The pair arranged to meet at a popular restaurant in Jilin province, northeastern China, but to the man's surprise, his date arrived at the restaurant accompanied by 23 of her relatives.
At the end of the meal, when Liu was handed the bill he had a huge shock to see the family had racked up a huge bill totalling 20,000 yuan (approximately £2,230).
The man panicked, so decided to leave the restaurant forcing his date to settle the bill.
She paid the bill but demanded he paid half. Liu agreed to pay some but not all of it and offered 4,000 yuan (approximately £445), leaving Zhang's relatives to pay the rest.
Angered by his offer, Zhang's family decided to sue him and take up a lawsuit to force him to pay up.
The court ruled in Liu's favour, stating that he should only cover the cost of his own and Zhang's meal, which was approximately 1,400 yuan (approximately £156).
The whole incident has prompted a range of responses in China and prompted discussions around the boundaries of social etiquette during blind dates.
It appears that most people sided with the man.
Legal experts said that bringing 23 relatives to what was supposed to be a blind date between two people surpassed generally accepted norms.
Others also said that other individuals bear responsibility for what they consumed during the meal and should pay for themselves.
It’s not recorded whether the pair schedule a second date, but most think they probably did not.
