Top Chinese restaurant in UK faces flak as waiter quits over ‘nipple tweak’

LONDON - An award-winning Chinese restaurant in London has been rocked by allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by a gay Chinese waiter.

Vincent Ma, who worked at the Yauatcha eatery in Soho, London, has begun legal proceedings against the Michelin-starred restaurant where he said he was the victim of homophobic abuse and harassment by staff and customers.

He worked in the eatery until sexual jibes and a failure to provide sufficient rest breaks for his diabetes forced him to leave.

The 31-year-old said some colleagues began making comments after they discovered he was homosexual.

“I was losing weight and, due to the tightness of the company uniform, a black T-shirt, my body figure was being shown,” the Independent quoted him as claiming in a complaint lodged at an employment tribunal.

“On one occasion, my nipples were popped out due to low temperature and one manager said to me it was sexy,” he added.

On another occasion, a gay customer pinched his nipples, he has claimed.

When he complained to a duty manager, he says he did not receive a proper response but was asked: “Do you like it?”

“My loss of weight leads me to look attractive, but it brought me trouble as I suffered from sexual harassment from some duty managers.

“I feel that I was being discriminated. I wonder if there’s justice in the world, especially now I am an individual to stand against a company,” he said.

However, Hakkasan Limited, the restaurant group that owns Yauatcha has denied the allegations.

David Anderson, Interim chief operating officer said changes had been made to Ma’s duties after he said he was diabetic, and that he received the same training duties as everyone else, and though inappropriate comments were made, Mr Ma “actively participated” in it. (ANI)