Taiwan couple get heavier sentences after bragging about attempted McDonald's extortion

台灣夫婦因放大話對麥當勞敲詐勒索未遂而被重判

Former firefighters launched nationwide inquiry into McDonald's after son injured there


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two former members of the New Taipei City Fire Department have been sentenced to more than five years jail time each for using their authority to try to extort a McDonald’s restaurant for NT$70.6 million (US$2.3 million) after their son was injured in the restaurant’s play area.

The couple initially received one year two-month prison sentences each from the court for the extortion attempt, but prosecutors argued for a harsher sentence after the couple reportedly bragged to friends about how they would spend the money if they succeeded in the scam.

On Wednesday (July 25), the court again sentenced the pair: the husband, surnamed Tsai (蔡), to six years and six months and wife, surnamed Huang (黃), to five years and two months.

The couple were initially tried for illegally extorting money from the fast food restaurant, but not for using their authority to carry out blackmail. The court said that the revised sentence and judgement now reflects the couple’s guilt for both offenses, per UDN.

The prosecution said in April that the husband-and-wife pair failed to show remorse after the initial trial, and that they had bragged to their friends about wanting to buy vehicles, property, and pay off debts with the money they hoped to extort.

The pair were dismissed from the fire department in 2020.

The two began the extortion attempt after their son was injured at a New Taipei McDonald’s (since closed) in 2016. They used their authority to launch nationwide enquiries into McDonald’s safety inspection records with the goal of extorting enough money to retire.

A lawyer representing McDonald’s told the court that the pair logged more than 300 records of fire safety violations against the fast food chain, in an attempt to extort over 10,000 times the medical expenses their son had incurred.

The prosecution added that the pair had reduced their initial demands to NT$37.8 million, said they would accept NT$8.8 million of the payment in meal coupons, and continued to reduce their demands as it became clear McDonald’s would not pay. McDonald’s lawyers recommended a sentence of up to seven years for the couple.