MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The family of the milk tea shop owner who was among the two people killed in an apparent poisoning claimed someone tried to sabotage the family business.
In a news conference, the wife of William Abrigo, owner of Ergo Cha milk tea shop, suspected that someone was trying to sabotage the family’s business by putting poison into the ingredients of the milk tea drink.
Abrigo and a customer, Suzaine Dagohoy, died after taking a sip out of what authorities said was contaminated milk tea that Abrigo prepared.
Dagohoy’s boyfriend Arnold Aydalla also took a sip but spitted it out after he found that the drink didn’t taste right.
The Manila Police District has invited for questioning the son of the owner of the milk tea shop last week after a witness said he allegedly brought in chemicals in the shop.
But Abrigo’s son denied the allegations during the news conference.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to release its findings on the substance found in the milk tea that killed Dagohoy and Abrigo.
Senator Koko Pimentel, meanwhile, filed a Senate resolution proposing to investigate, in aid of legislation, the death of two individual after drinking milk tea.
The resolution will direct Senate committee on health and demography chaired by Senator Teofisto Guingona II to conduct the probe on number of food poisoning incidents in the country.
“Although the initial investigation of the DOH yielded negative results with respect to the presence of toxic substance in the milk tea sample, the incident still raised alarm on the possible harmful contents or substances in food products used and the manner of food preparations in food outlets,” the senator said.
A massive inspection of all food outlets should be made by the Local Government Units (LGUs), Department of Health (DOH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent similar occurrence of food poisoning because of the contents of the food being prepared as well as the unhealthy conditions that attend to their preparation, Pimentel said in the resolution. – BusinessNewsAsia.com