A 50-year-old expat is facing repercussions after faking heart attacks in more than 20 restaurants so he could avoid paying for his food.
It's one thing to complain if you find a hair in your meal - it's a whole other thing to pretend you're having a very serious medical emergency just so you don't have to fork out for everything you've just stuffed in your face.
And yet this is the approach a man named Aidas, who is originally from Lithuania, decided to take while eating out at a number of restaurants in Alicante, Spain, where he now resides.
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Staff at the restaurants noticed how Aidas carried out a dramatic act after his meals, which ended up with him being slumped on the floor.
One restaurant owner indicated Aidas wasn't shy with his orders, enjoying several glasses of White Label whiskey and a Russian salad before pretending to be struck by a heart attack.
His checks would amount to €15 ($15), €30 ($31) or even €70 ($73) euros.
Speaking to The Sun, the manager of one restaurant named El Buen Comer described the act as 'very theatrical'.
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"He pretended to faint and slumped himself down on the floor," he said.
The manager had managed to get a picture of Aidas as he carried out the routine, and sent it around to other restaurants in the area to 'try and stop him from striking again'.
Confirming that they'd received the photo, a worker at Sale&Pepe restaurant said: "We’ve all received a warning with his photo telling us to be careful and to not serve him anything."
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Another restaurant worker told El País: “He lay down on the floor, acted as if his chest hurt and began to shake."
Aidas went so far as to receive medical attention, before later apparently trying to hit the same restaurant again.
“The second time he tried, we told him not to do it again,” they said.
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According to Caso Abierto, Aidas had faked heart attacks for two months, throughout which he didn't pay a single euro for what he'd ordered.
He racked up 20 arrests, but was released each time after a short period as his crimes were considered 'minor', due to the fact he only owed a small amount of money to each restaurant.
All the dine and dash incidents added up though, and he apparently owed €766 ($800) in unpaid restaurant bills.
It wasn't until he was hit with a bigger sentence that his stint came to an end, as he was ordered to spend time behind bars for failing to pay two fines for his crimes.
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Aidas has been sentenced to at least 22 days behind bars.
Topics: World News, Food and Drink, Money, Health
Emily Brown