TAIWAN-POLITICS-COURT
On November 12, the Taipei District Court delivered its verdict in the 2024 Baolin Tea House food poisoning case, sentencing the restaurant owner and four other chefs for negligent homicide. The case resulted in six deaths and 27 injuries.

Four people, including the operator and chefs of Baolin Tea House, a Malaysian restaurant at Far Eastern Department Store’s Xinyi A13 mall in Taipei’s Xinyi District, were sentenced on Nov. 12 over a major food poisoning incident in 2024. Taipei District Court handed down prison terms ranging from four months to one year and 10 months for negligent homicide, while acquitting a branch manager. The incident left six people dead and 27 injured, renewing public concern over food-safety management in the restaurant industry and related criminal liability.

According to Central News Agency reports, restaurant operator Lai Fang-hsuan was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison. Acting head chef Hu Ching-fu received an eight-month sentence, head chef Chou Jih-hao was sentenced to six months, and a Vietnamese intern, identified by the surname Nguyen, received a four-month sentence. Some of the shorter sentences may be commuted to fines, calculated at NT$1,000 per day.

The court said the incident occurred in late March 2024, when customers developed symptoms of food poisoning after eating dishes including rice noodles at the restaurant. Health authorities found Bongkrekic acid in samples from 33 diners. Six people died of multiple organ failure, while 27 others were injured.

Bongkrekic acid is a highly toxic substance that can be produced by certain bacteria and may cause severe organ damage or death. Health authorities confirmed that the incident was linked to contaminated food.

The court said the restaurant operator had failed to establish a comprehensive food-safety management system and had not properly arranged employee training or kitchen supervision. After the restaurant’s original operations manager left Taiwan in early March 2024, it failed to put effective substitute management arrangements in place, increasing food-safety risks.

The court found that acting head chef Hu was responsible for kitchen operations at the time of the incident, yet kept opened rice noodles at room temperature. He also mixed ingredients from different batches and reused plastic bags, while being unable to confirm when the ingredients had been opened or whether the containers were clean. The court therefore held him more directly responsible.

As for head chef Chou, the court said he had left the restaurant before the contaminated dishes were served. However, he had previously instructed employees that small quantities of opened rice noodles did not need to be refrigerated, thereby influencing unsafe food-handling practices to a certain extent.

The court acquitted Wang Shun-te, manager of the Xinyi A13 branch, saying the evidence was insufficient to prove that he had authority over the storage and handling of kitchen ingredients or that he was aware of the relevant circumstances. Some negligent-injury charges were dismissed because the statutory period for filing a complaint had expired.

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said it would review the written verdict after receiving it before deciding whether to appeal. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said the sentences were too lenient and that the city government would continue helping victims and their families with subsequent legal proceedings.

The case not only left multiple families grieving the loss of loved ones, but also highlighted the responsibilities of restaurant operators regarding ingredient storage, employee training and food-safety management. Whether prosecutors will appeal and whether the victims’ families will seek further civil compensation remain to be seen.