‘I am very scared’: Fun Tea bubble tea shop owner Jason Duan has received death threats

The owner of the bubble tea shop embroiled in a workers assault furore says he has received death threats from Chinese gangsters.

The owner of a bubble tea shop embroiled in a worker’s assault furore – captured on video – says he fears for his life from Chinese gangsters.

Fun Tea director Jason Duan said he and an associate, Gavin Guo, 39, who was charged with slapping and kicking a female staffer during a confrontation at the Gouger Street shop, had received death threats.

“I am very scared,” he said in his first media interview since video of the incident went viral.

The violent brawl has been viewed more than 100,000 times on social media since being posted 10 days ago, creating widespread interest in Australia and China.

Mr Duan has admitted the dispute flared after the female staff member complained about being paid $10 an hour to work in the shop, well below award rates.

The 32-year-old said his business since had been targeted with an attempted break-in, protest rallies and fake company notices on its door defending alleged wage theft and assaulting staff.

He also had received anonymous telephone calls and hundreds of abusive posts on social media.

“I have been getting phone calls from blocked numbers every day.” he said. “I have been told gangsters are looking for me and Gavin. I have been threatened. What happened has caused a lot of problems.

Funtea owner Jason Duan at his bubble tea shop on Gouger Street. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“The roller door on the shop has been damaged and I just don’t know what will happen next time.”

The former overseas student’s lawyer, Richard Townsend, has written to the Fair Work Commission acknowledging staff have been underpaid. Mr Duan said his accountant was working to determine how much was outstanding.

“I will pay everything I owe and make sure everyone is paid the right rate from now on,” he said. “I have decided not to have anything more to do with Fun Tea and will be selling my interest and getting out.

“This has all been very stressful. My wife has been crying every day. There have been too many attacks, too much pressure.”

Mr Duan met with a popular Chinese YouTube broadcaster from Sydney last weekend to give his version in Mandarin of the events which led to the confrontation inside his shop on Friday, January 29.

A protest against wage theft outside the Fun Tea bubble tea shop on Gouger Street. Picture: Kelly Barnes/NCA NewsWire

CCTV shows Mr Guo and the staff member having a verbal exchange before he calls Mr Duan at his eastern suburbs home to attend the cafe.

He arrives and speaks with Mr Guo before the staff member, who had walked out after a verbal altercation with Mr Guo, returns with two males and another female.

They are talking to Mr Duan when Mr Guo leaves his wife and two young children at a table, walks across the restaurant and strikes the young staffer, triggering a brawl during which she is kicked.

Mr Duan said a video posted by a friend of the 20-year-old student of the altercation did not show the incident in context.

“What people have seen is only the first video taken by one of her friends of the slap but they need to see the whole thing and what led up to it,” he said.

The damaged roller window at the Fun Tea bubble tea shop on Gouger Street. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Mr Duan said he was at his home in the eastern suburbs with his wife, Susan, and three young children, aged between 12 months and eight, when he received the call from Mr Guo.

“Gavin told me he had come to the shop to give me some books and the staff member had called him dirty names in Mandarin so I went down there to see what had happened,” he said.

“I was talking to her and some of her friends when he walked over and slapped her. I had no idea he would do what he did. I had no chance to stop him. I was shocked.

“It was pretty bad. I don’t know why he did that. It is not the sort of person I am, it is just not me.”

Mr Duan, who moved to Adelaide from Beijing to study an electrical and mechanical degree at UniSA in 2009, said he was embarrassed and ashamed over the incident, which had received coverage in mainland China.

“This has caused me many problems,” he said.

“I have been told the department of education of China is warning students about coming to Australia to study. I did not want that to happen.”

Fun Tea owner Jason Duan in an interview on YouTube spoken in Mandarin with YouTuber ‘Sydney Daddy. Picture: YouTube

While there has been public outrage over the assault, Mr Duan also has come under criticism for underpaying the staff member, creating a public storm over wage theft.

Among those who have embroiled in the controversy has been Adelaide City councillor and prominent Chinese businessman Simon Hou, who made social media posts confirming he had spoken to Mr Duan and Mr Guo.

Mr Hou has started defamation action against an university student who started an online petition calling for his removal from the council before sending an email to elected members, including Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor, seeking their support.

Mr Hou has responded by insisting he believes in the payment of award rates and was trying to help Mr Duan resolve the issue by ensuring correct amounts were paid.

Adelaide City councillor Simon Hou has become embroiled in the controversy over the Fun Tea cafe assault. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Mr Duan acknowledged the altercation with Mr Guo was triggered by the staff’s member discontent with her pay packet.

He admitted she was receiving $10 per hour during the two weeks she had worked for him.

“It was a training wage and she was still in the training period,” he said.

“She would have got more later on.

“She told Gavin that if she was only going to get paid $10 an hour then he shouldn’t expect good service.”

Mr Duan said he would be reviewing staff wages at other businesses he owned, which included a pool hall, restaurant and two other Fun Tea cafes in the CBD.

Three other Fun Tea cafes in the city, Woodville and Semaphore were operated independently as franchises.

Editor's note:

An earlier version of this story stated Jason Duan paid for a Sydney-based YouTube broadcaster, Edgar Lu, to interview him in Adelaide. Mr Lu, known as 'Sydney Daddy', says he personally covered the expenses for the interview, including his flights and accommodation, from sponsorship income.