A group on Wednesday evening dumped an unidentified powder into pots at 10 restaurants, targeting a sesame oil chicken chain in Taipei and New Taipei City, police told a news conference yesterday.
Chang Ming-che (張銘哲), head of the New Taipei City Police Department’s Sixth Criminal Investigation Corps, said that police have arrested three suspects and that no restaurant patrons were affected.
Surveillance camera footage showed the suspects pouring substances from plastic bags into soup before departing on motorbikes at multiple locations, Chang said.
Photo courtesy of the police
The incidents occurred between 3pm and 6pm at restaurants in Taipei’s Beitou (北投), Shilin (士林) and Wenshan (文山) districts, as well as New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水), Lujhou (蘆洲) and Jhonghe (中和) districts, he said.
The two cities’ police departments deemed the incidents to be potentially dangerous to public safety and established a joint task force to handle the response, he said, adding that the New Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office has been alerted to the situation.
Police pursued the suspects in patrol vehicles and detained three men surnamed Lee (李), Chiang (江) and Hsieh (謝), who have been handed over to prosecutors with recommended charges including endangering public safety and vandalism, he said.
Police believe that each man carried out attacks against three to four venues, Chang said, adding that they gave conflicting accounts indicative of premeditation and intent to deceive.
The task force is focusing the investigation on the motive behind the attacks and the chemical composition of the powder used, he said.
A police source commenting on condition of anonymity identified the chain as Chuang Chia Pan (莊家班) sesame oil chicken restaurants.
Gambling debts of someone connected to the chain are being explored, the source said.
The chicken stew chain owns all of its venues, with none operating as franchises, they said.
Additional reporting by Hsu Shen-lun
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