A New Taipei City couple on Tuesday were both found guilty of extortion in the second ruling of a case, after they attempted to sue McDonald’s following the injury of their son at the restaurant.
In yesterday’s second ruling in the case, the Taiwan High Court said the couple – a man surnamed Tsai (蔡) and his wife surnamed Huang (黃) – were found during an investigation to have kept fire-safety inspection information for the restaurant at their home, and were found to have logged into the New Taipei City Fire Department’s fire-safety management platform 300 times.
Photo: screen grab from Google Maps
Tsai was sentenced to six years and six months imprisonment, and Huang was sentenced to five years and two months.
The case began in 2017 when the couple attempted to sue McDonald’s for NT$70.6 million after their son fell and broke his hand while playing in a children’s play area on the second floor of one of the restaurant chain’s locations in Tucheng District (土城).
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office countersued, indicting the couple for extortion, and both were found guilty and sentenced to 14 months imprisonment in the first ruling.
The couple appealed that ruling, and the Taiwan High Court on Tuesday increased the sentence based on new evidence. The case can still be appealed.
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