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Brooklyn eateries might be breathing a collective sigh of relief now that an alleged serial dine-and-dash influencer has been detained. However, her neighbors remain uneasy, citing months of disruptive behavior as her actions increasingly spiraled out of control.
Pei ‘Lu’ Chung, 34, has been repeatedly reported to the police for allegedly skipping out on bills at numerous restaurants in Williamsburg. Often dressed in designer outfits, she reportedly attempted to negotiate with restaurant staff by promising to post photos of her meals on social media instead of paying.
Her audacious ruse came to a halt last week when she allegedly attempted to cheat the staff at Mole Mexican Bar and Grill out of $149 in food. This incident led to yet another police call.
This marks the eighth time Chung has faced arrest and charges for theft of service since October 22. She is currently held at Rikers Island with bail set at $4,500 by a judge.
Appearing at Kings County Criminal Court on Wednesday morning, Chung was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Her attorney argued that she was unable to comprehend the charges filed against her.
Records show she also owes more than $40,000 in back rent and is subject to a court-ordered eviction notice from the luxury waterfront apartment building she calls home.
Chung’s neighbors previously told the Daily Mail that she has been tormenting them for months with outlandish behavior, including late-night screaming fits, blasting music at all hours and allegedly vandalizing doors and hallways.
Residents say they repeatedly raised the alarm with building management, but nothing changed – leaving them to endure countless sleepless nights as they feared for their safety and what Chung might do next.
‘I believe she’s capable of just about anything, and I am genuinely shaken up and thoroughly uncomfortable,’ one neighbor told building management in April as he described ‘a lot of loud noise and screaming’ from Chung’s home.
Pei ‘Lu’ Chung (pictured), 34, has shared snaps of her glamorous lifestyle on Instagram, but in reality has had police called on her numerous times for allegedly refusing to pay checks at some of Williamsburg’s fanciest restaurants
The Daily Mail caught Chung in the act in November after she was ejected from the Australian restaurant, Hole in the Wall
A building manager allegedly replied: ‘As I have mentioned, there is an active legal case against her. The courts are ridiculously slow and very sympathetic. If you ever feel threatened, you should absolutely call 911.’
The neighbor, who asked to be named only as Will, filed another complaint with management as recently as September 4, messages shared with the Daily Mail show.
‘The team went up there earlier and tried knocking multiple times,’ building management responded, according to the messages. ‘She was non-responsive to them… Phone calls went straight to voicemail. I also understand you or we called 911.
‘This is a bad situation but it will come to a head at some point in the not too distant future.’
Will and another neighbors told the Daily Mail they believe she needs psychiatric care rather than being held in a jail cell.
‘This was avoidable,’ said Will, who has lived next to Chung for the last four years.
‘Her behavior made it obvious for months that she was struggling with a significant mental health issue – the police knew, management knew and nothing meaningful was done.
‘She didn’t need to be funneled into Rikers, she needed clinical intervention.
‘I genuinely hope the broader coverage reaches Taiwan so her family becomes aware and can finally step in.’
Three neighbors who previously spoke with the Daily Mail described Chung (pictured) as a disruptive and unnerving presence who left them fearing for their safety
Police have been called numerous times to Chung’s apartment. Pictured: Officers entering Chung’s unit as part of a welfare check in December 2024
A second neighbor, Maggie, who has lived on the other side of Chung since early 2024, called the situation sad to witness.
‘I think they’re going to make an example out of her since she clearly didn’t learn her lesson,’ Maggie told the Daily Mail. ‘[But] do I think it’s fair she’s in Rikers? No, not really.
‘She needs to be in a mental hospital, but I guess they’ll determine that. I don’t know who will bail her out, or if her family knows, which makes me sad.’
Both neighbors said that while Chung’s behavior often left them frightened or exhausted, it was equally clear she was in crisis – and that the situation was escalating long before her arrest on November 21.
Will said he first noticed a change in Chung in the winter of 2022, when she allegedly told a now-former doorman that she had seen a sniper on the roof of a nearby building, and voiced fears the Chinese Communist Party was ‘coming after her.’
For a time, her behavior mellowed, he said. But in early summer 2024, the situation allegedly began to spiral out of control – from pounding on walls in the middle of the night to police conducting welfare checks as her outbursts escalated.
It was around this time that Chung also stopped paying rent on her $3,350-a-month studio, legal records obtained by the Daily Mail show.
In the months after, they claimed more changes followed: strange outbursts in the building’s group chat and nights where she blasted EDM and classical music so loudly that the walls and furniture in both Will’s and Maggie’s apartments shook.
Another source told the Daily Mail that Chung had been reprimanded for attempting to enter another tenant’s apartment.
Will claimed Chung’s outbursts often woke him in the middle of the night or in the early morning hours. He banged on the wall in response and repeatedly called 311, but the police could do little. Officers would knock, she wouldn’t answer, and they would eventually leave, he said.
On December 15, 2024, the NYPD returned for a welfare check after receiving reports that she had been screaming in Mandarin inside her apartment and blasting music for hours. Video footage obtained by the Daily Mail shows several officers forcing open her door.
Chung moved into the luxury waterfront building along Kent Avenue in 2021. She stopped paying rent in August 2024 and has been ordered to leave by December 1
One neighbor, who asked to be identified only as Will, told the Daily Mail that Chung has been tormenting him for months, playing music in the early hours and vandalizing his door (pictured)
Will believes Chung left strange items outside of his door, including dirty face masks (left) and used plastic gloves (right)
Will also filed several complaints about Chung to building management, expressing concern not just for his safety but also for Chung’s well-being, but said he was repeatedly told there was little that could be done.
The management company has not yet responded to a request for comment from the Daily Mail.
The ritzy high-rise is owned by disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned from office in 2008 after it was revealed he had been patronizing high-end sex workers.
Maggie said she fears what may happen when Chung is evicted on December 1.
‘I can’t imagine she’s gonna go quietly – there’s no way,’ she said. ‘But I also don’t know where she’s going to go.’
‘It’s clear something’s not right,’ she added. ‘It’s sad – she doesn’t seem to have any family or friends here. She spends most of her time locked in that apartment.’
On Instagram, Chung documents some of her neighborly disputes, buried between posts showing off shopping hauls at Hermès and Prada, posing in lingerie or dining out at some of the city’s most esteemed restaurants.
Late last month, Chung was arrested for allegedly refusing to pay a bill at the famed steak house, Peter Luger (pictured)
Exclusive images obtained by the Mail show Chung seated alone inside Hole in the Wall, twirling pasta on her fork last week
Then, the following night, Chung was seen two doors down at the swanky Maison Premiere. She was asked to leave and refused until police were called
In posts and stories, she has railed against a ‘Black family’ on her floor, accusing them of closing their door ‘too loudly.’ Other clips show her grinning as deafening music plays from a speaker, or peering into the hallway and making noises.
Some of her captions and posts veer into the nonsensical, including extended exchanges with an AI chatbot and scattered, paranoid claims.
Her alleged dine-and-dash spree began in the Williamsburg area in late October at the ritzy restaurant Francie, where she racked up a $188 tab and refused to pay when handed the check, allegedly offering to take pictures instead.
She then allegedly struck at least nine more times – including a second incident at Francie – over the next few weeks, resulting in seven more arrests.
The Daily Mail captured Chung in the act at the swanky Maison Premiere on November 20.
Staff recognized her when she attempted to order a drink and the eatery refused to serve her, demanding she leave. Chung refused, and police were called, but she left just before officers arrived. She declined to speak to the Daily Mail when approached for comment.
Owners of some of the restaurants she is accused of victimizing have spoken with relief at the news of her arrest.
‘I’m glad justice is being served,’ Francie’s owner, John Winterman, told the New York Post.
Similar sentiments were shared by the owner of the nearby famous steakhouse Peter Luger.
Pictured: Eviction notices hanging from Chung’s door
However, Mimmo Cappiello, who runs the Italian restaurant Bacci & Abbracci, which Chung visited on November 20, said he decided to serve her despite knowing who she was.
‘I knew she was not going to pay,’ a sympathetic Cappiello told NBC7. ‘I felt, OK, why not? I’ll give her a meal or something.’
Chung ordered a margherita pizza, linguine with clams and dessert. She also requested a steak to go.
‘If your kitchen is closed, I can cook it at home myself,’ she allegedly told him, but he refused.
Chung later complained about the free meal on her Instagram, writing that the restaurant’s service wasn’t up to her standards.
She has not responded to any of the Daily Mail’s requests for comment.
Court records show she is being represented by a public defender.
The Daily Mail reached out to Chung’s lawyer, McCarthy Hawkins, for comment on this story, but has not heard back.
