Canadian restaurant apologizes for calling police on 12 South Asian students deemed ‘unwanted guests’

February 10, 2022

A restaurant in Canada released an apology after telling a group of “unwanted” South Asian university students to leave its premises on Saturday.

On TikTok, user @jasmeenab posted a video of the group of students speaking to RCMP officers outside the establishment after having been asked to leave.

“Disgusting behaviour from cactus club to call the police on 12 young men just trying to enjoy a birthday dinner,” read the caption for the now-viral clip.

In a separate video, one of the students can be heard complaining about how they were thrown out of the restaurant without anyone confirming their identities first “just for being brown.”

According to the Coquitlam Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the restaurant called to request assistance with handling 12 “unwanted guests.”

The students were reportedly told to leave after being mistakenly connected with a separate incident that purportedly happened at the upscale restaurant chain’s Langley location.

On Wednesday, Cactus Club in Coquitlam offered their “unreserved apology” to the customers who were forced to leave after the police were called, reported the Daily Hive.

In a statement, the restaurant later said calling the officers was a mistake and noted that the students “should not have been asked to leave,” reported The Voice.

“Last Saturday night, a group came into our Coquitlam location. Our security personnel believed that a few members of the party were connected to a serious incident that occurred at another one of our restaurants, and the RCMP was called,” Cactus Club said.

“We recognize how upsetting this experience was for the guests involved. We deeply regret what occurred and offer our unreserved apology,” added the restaurant.

Featured Image via @jasmeenab

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