The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday said that it would indict a man for allegedly blinding a friend in one eye by thrusting a chopstick up his nostril during a fight over a restaurant bill.
On Jan. 5, a 57-year-old man surnamed Liao (廖) went to a restaurant on Longan Street in Keelung, ordered drinks and asked the owner, surnamed Yeh (葉), to find him a female escort, the office said.
When presented with the bill, which was reportedly between NT$5,000 and NT$6,000, Liao began arguing with Yeh, prosecutors said, adding that a friend of Yeh’s, surnamed Lin (林), who was seated separately at the restaurant, intervened.
According to prosecutors, Liao said that he unintentionally pushed a chopstick through Lin’s right nostril during the scuffle.
The chopstick went through Lin’s nasal passage and damaged his brain, while Liao sustained scrapes on his left knee and right hip, as well as blunt trauma to the head, they said.
Lin was sent to Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and he later lost the vision in his right eye, the prosecutors’ office said.
During questioning, Liao said that he had only ordered side dishes and some drinks and was surprised to find that the bill was so high, the prosecutors said.
It said that Liao accused Yeh of cheating him, saying that while he did call for an escort, she only stayed for a short time.
Liao said that the restaurant’s billing method was problematic.
The office said Liao’s actions amounted to aggravated assault, adding that it had sufficient evidence to press charges against him.
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