KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 11 -- ZUS Coffee has expressed full support for its barista who was verbally abused and splashed with coffee by a customer in a viral video.

The coffee chain said in a statement that it was aware of the incident, which took place at one of its outlets on Nov 9.

It said it had begun a thorough internal investigation and was "standing with our Zurista through this time."

"Working in retail isn't always easy, and things should never have escalated the way they did," ZUS Coffee said.

The company also urged the public to respect the employee's privacy and to refrain from sharing or reposting the video showing her face.

It further appealed to social media users not to spread false claims and to maintain respectful discou...