What do cafe ingredients have to do with the milk tea shop extortion case?

A 23-year-old man was prosecuted for extortion after planting insects in drinks at a well-known milk tea chain and demanding payment. He had worked at the brand and resigned in April 2020. With his girlfriend and friends, he placed a caught insect into a purchased cup in Hangzhou in late September 2020, filmed it, and then sought money from stores in Hangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

Amounts demanded reportedly ranged from about one thousand yuan to two hundred thousand yuan. The case followed a run of real food safety incidents in the tea beverage sector, including a foreign object found in a drink and the use of expired ingredients, both of which drew public apologies. The result is a harder question for brands: how to tell a genuine complaint from a staged one, and how cafe ingredients and supply records should be documented.

Recently, food safety incidents in the tea beverage industry have occurred frequently, from Tea Baidao's "real spider" milk tea to the use of expired ingredients, making headlines every so often. However, a news report by Guangzhou Daily on October 12 was quite different: a 23-year-old man, using his work experience at "a certain tea" brand, colluded with his girlfriend and friends to deliberately plant insects in stores in Hangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and other places, extorting money under the pretext of food safety, with amounts ranging from a thousand yuan to two hundred thousand yuan. Ultimately, he was prosecuted on suspicion of extortion. This incident not only exposed the negligence in operation and management of some milk tea shops but also sparked public discussion about the authenticity of food safety complaints. What consumers really need is a hygienic and tasty drink, not a vicious cycle of deception. This article compiles the sequence of events and includes related information from Front Street Coffee.

Man Sentenced for Targeting Well-Known Milk Tea Shop

From time to time, food safety and hygiene issues at tea beverage shops trend on social media. On October 8, Tea Baidao's "real spider" milk tea, and on September 30, Tea Baidao's use of expired ingredients—such food safety problems and the apologies issued by the brands can be seen on Weibo's trending topics every so often.

Today, another food safety issue at a milk tea shop trended, but this time it was not the shop's own problem—it was a case of being framed. At around 10 PM on October 12, the official Weibo of Guangzhou Daily reported that a man had extorted a well-known milk tea shop using insects and was prosecuted on suspicion of extortion.

According to Guangzhou Daily, the man, 23 years old, had worked at "a certain tea" brand and resigned in April 2020 along with a woman he met at the store. After resigning, he idled away, had no income, and gradually became financially strained. Recalling his former employer's business philosophy, internal operations, and management methods, he conceived the idea of making quick money.

In late September 2020, the man and his girlfriend bought a drink costing over 20 yuan at "a certain tea" store in Gongshu District, Hangzhou. They then caught a small insect in a nearby park and put it into the cup. After filming a video and taking photos of the drink with the insect, they extorted the store.

The man "coached" his girlfriend to refuse the 1,000 yuan compensation under the highest food safety standard and demanded 50,000 yuan citing the brand's reputation. They ultimately received 45,000 yuan. Half a month later, the man targeted a "so-and-so's tea" store in Hangzhou, but since he only got 1,000 yuan, he shifted his target back to "a certain tea."

From late November 2020 to early April 2021, the man and his friends repeated the trick at "a certain tea" stores in Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, once even demanding 200,000 yuan. In late April 2021, the man and his friends traveled to Shanghai for fun and planned to strike again. Because previous incidents had already raised alarm, after the Shanghai store reported and sought instructions, the headquarters immediately reported the case to the public security authorities.

In the comments under the news, some netizens brought up the big spider milk tea incident at Tea Baidao on October 8, suspecting it was also this kind of extortion. After all, a spider that big couldn't have been missed. Others commented under that remark that although absurd, it might not be fake—when people are busy, they may not notice, and such a situation could occur if the cup is sealed directly.

Previously, we only knew that milk tea from such shops could make people sick, but now, unexpectedly, customers can drink a milk tea shop into "bankruptcy." Some brand milk tea shops, in pursuit of store numbers and sales, neglect even the most basic issues. Meanwhile, some people use crooked ideas, thinking these shops will be careless about food safety issues.

If sellers ignore the most basic issues and fail to train employees properly, and buyers try to exploit loopholes with "crooked ideas," a vicious cycle forms. Mutual deception will ultimately prevent the entire industry from recovering. The man, because of his "crooked ideas," now faces a more criminal life, with his days increasingly numbered by prison time.

For ordinary consumers, all they want is a tasty and hygienic drink, not a compensation payment that looks good on paper. Wouldn't the world be better if both sides benefited mutually?

Image source: Guangzhou Daily official Weibo, internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.