The owner and manager of Relay Juicetail Bar at ATT 4 Fun in Taipei were indicted for negligent homicide today over the death of an engineer surnamed Chang (張) following a drinking contest at the bar last year.
The bar hosted a promotional event on Sept. 8 last year, giving customers who finished one “Liter of Tears” cocktail within eight minutes a NT$500 refund for the drink.
The cocktail is made with 270ml of vodka, 430ml of passion fruit liquor and 300ml of ice.
Photo: Olivia Wycech, Taipei Times
Chang went to the bar at 12:30am that night to participate in the event, finishing the cocktail in one minute and 10 seconds, prosecutors said.
Chang felt unwell afterward and went to the bathroom on the second basement level of ATT 4 Fun’s parking lot, where he died from acute alcohol poisoning, they said.
Security personnel found Chang dead in the bathroom at 7:10am that morning and called the police, they added.
The deceased’s father believed the store owner and manager were responsible for negligent homicide and pressed charges against them.
The Taipei District Prosectors’ Office today said that encouraging or advocating consumption of alcohol is prohibited under Article 37 of the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act (菸酒管理法).
The bar owner and manager held the event knowing that alcohol promotions must not encourage excessive drinking, and that consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short time could lead to fatal alcohol poisoning, prosecutors said.
Moreover, the promoted cocktail contained a high concentration of alcohol and participants were asked to finish it within eight minutes, they said.
The prosecutors said that the bar owner and manager could have foreseen the risk of acute alcohol poisoning and had a duty to warn participants.
However, they failed to fulfill this duty, posting no warning signs at the venue and neglecting to inform participants of the risks or requiring staff to do so, they said.
With no proper safety measures in place, Chang died of acute alcohol poisoning after the event, they added.
The office accordingly indicted the bar owner, surnamed Tseng (曾), and manager, surnamed Chen (陳), on charges of negligent homicide.
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