NZ man's beer leaves bad taste

A New Zealander has bought what is possibly the world's most expensive beer, paying HK$20,000 (US$2,595) for the drink in a Hong Kong bar.

The man told his bank that he thought he was only being charged about HK$19 (US$2.45) for the beer last year, until he received his credit card bill a few weeks later.

He now believes the bar's staff added a tip and several zeros to the payment slip, without his knowledge.

But his bank told him it could not intervene because he had signed the credit card receipt, and there was no evidence it had been forged or tampered with.

The case was revealed this week in the annual report of the New Zealand banking ombudsman, who mediates complaints between customers and their banks.

The traveller, identified only as Mr B in the report, said he believed that the bar staff doctored his bill.

But banking ombudsman Liz Brown said that Mr B could offer no evidence of this.

She said his bank told him that his dispute was with the bar.