Man in China arrested for attempting to extort restaurant by putting cockroach in his food
By Bryan Ke
A man was arrested for trying to extort a restaurant in Beijing by spitting a cockroach onto his food.
What happened: The incident reportedly occurred at an unnamed high-end restaurant in Beijing’s Ganjiakou Subdistrict on June 11.
The restaurant’s manager told local media that the suspect, identified only by his surname Chen, informed the staff about a cockroach he found in the meal he ordered.
The manager said they offered Chen a complimentary replacement dish, but the man refused and left after paying for his food. The establishment’s staff noted that Chen acted composed during the ordeal.
However, he allegedly called the restaurant later on and demanded they pay him 10 times what he paid for his meal, totaling 2,800 yuan (approximately $392), or else he would post about what happened online.
Agreeing to his demands: After negotiating with Chen, the manager reportedly agreed to transfer 1,000 yuan (approximately $139) to the man and also buy him a pack of cigarettes as compensation.
Discovering the extortion: A restaurant employee reportedly checked the cockroach Chen claimed to have found and realized it did not come from his food, although it is unclear how this check was conducted.
The restaurant reported the incident to the police, who later found and arrested the man in the hotel room he was living in.
What they discovered: During his arrest, police reportedly found a can of chewing gum that the man used to store cockroaches he brought from his hometown and later cooked for his scam.
During their investigation, local authorities learned that similar incidents had also occurred at other businesses.
His confession: Chen eventually confessed to his crime, explaining that he was unemployed and running out of money. Police said that by using the same method he used at the Beijing restaurant, he was able to make around 3,000 yuan (approximately $419) from extorting businesses.
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