Taipei: A New Taipei pharmacist accused of spiking his university student employee's water with a benzodiazepine-class drug was detained on suspicion of attempted sexual assault on Sunday. The Shilin District Court ordered the suspect, identified by his surname Chen, to be held incommunicado on the grounds that he posed a risk of destroying evidence or tampering with witnesses.
According to Focus Taiwan, authorities were alerted to the case by a recent social media post, in which the alleged victim's sibling accused Chen of drugging her. The part-time employee reportedly became dizzy and confused shortly after drinking from her water bottle while working at the pharmacy, and subsequently reported the incident to the police.
Speaking with local media, Chen admitted to putting the drug in the employee's drink, but insisted it had been "a joke," asserting that he believed the medication had expired and was therefore harmless. Following these admissions, police obtained a warrant to search Chen's home and pharmacy, leading to the seizure of phones, a computer, electronic storage devices, surveillance equipment, and records related to drug purchases.
According to police, testing confirmed the presence of a benzodiazepine-class controlled drug in the water, while surveillance footage appeared to capture Chen adding a substance to it. Prosecutors are now seeking to indict Chen on charges of using deception to cause someone to take a controlled drug, attempted aggravated sexual assault, attempted aggravated sexual indecency, and causing bodily harm.