Penniless teen parties up a storm
21/01/2008 12:44 - (SA)

Tokyo - A night of debauchery at a girlie bar had a sobering end for a Japanese teenager who downed dozens of pricey drinks before staff found he wasn't carrying any money to pay his $3 500 (R25 000) bill, police said on Monday.

The underage 16-year-old ordered two bottles of Dom Perignon champagne and 60 glasses of whisky and cocktails for himself and five mini-skirted hostesses who kept him company for six hours last week at the bar in suburban Tokyo.

The teenager had introduced himself to the bar as a 22-year-old businessman with an IT company. But at the end of the night, his cover was blown as a bar employee discovered he was not carrying any money.

He was taken to the police for trying to skip out on paying the ¥370 000 bill, a police spokesperson said.

"I just wanted to drink. I went crazy as it felt so good being with hot girls," he was quoted by local media as telling investigators.

The teenager, whose name was not released due to his age, was still looking at how to pay the tab.

Japanese must be at least 20 years old to drink legally but the law is rarely enforced.