The owner of one of the biggest Chinese restaurants in Renfrewshire has admitted he’s endured “sleepless nights” after vicious online attacks were made on his business.

The Beijing Banquet in Renfrew has come under fire from former staff who have made a series of allegations about the giant buffet.

In one attack, disgruntled ex-staffer Declan Bryson,19, made claims on the restaurant’s Facebook site.

The restaurant shut down its Facebook page as people waded-in with vile comments.

Now Rui Lin, the owner of the four-strong chain and pictured above with his wife Susan, has promised a full investigation.

He said: “No member of staff came to us to say anything was wrong.

“We would, of course, have taken action, as any responsible business would.

“These allegations were news to us and the reaction to them has been deeply hurtful.

“We are taking this very seriously and are carrying out an investigation.

“We have also asked former staff to get in touch with us to share their concerns.”

The 250-seater restaurant, on Arkleston Road, opened nearly two years ago and employs more than 20 people.

It’s currently closed to diners because of the pandemic and is only operating a takeaway service.

Declan Bryson, who lives in Renfrew, was made redundant in September after working there since January 2019.

He claimed a planned seven hour shift could leave him with just two hours money after staff were put on enforced breaks.

And he said staff were not given any share of tips.

Declan said: “They would pay us late every week by cheque and we only had  one pair of disposable gloves for a full shift when they were supposed to be changed after 15 minutes.”

And he claimed: “They put Glens vodka in Smirnoff bottles.”

His post led to troll-like comments on the page attacking the venue.

A 15-second video without narration was separately posted which purported to show  trays of food had been left out in the kitchen.

One large pot of what looked like a chicken dish was lying on the floor.

The Beijing Banquet group employs up to 90 people in restaurants including two in Edinburgh and one in Glenrothes.

But Rui, speaking to the Paisley Daily Express with the assistance of an interpreter, said: “You cannot tell the context of the video, the pan on the floor may have been there to be disposed of.

“All our staff have been trained to operate at the highest hygiene levels.

“It is so easy and quick for people to write a post online in reaction to something they don’t know about.

”I have been hurt by this and staff have been hurt by some of the comments online.

“ I have had sleepless nights and it makes me sad and alarmed.

“We do not recognise these allegations and no formal complaints were ever made to us at the time.

“As a business operating for ten years we certainly do not condone changing vodka into different bottles.

“Had we known about that or other staff concerns about pay we would have addressed them at the time as responsible owners.

“The hospitality industry is really struggling at the moment and so are we.”