Mandaluyong prosecutor orders assault raps vs. ‘taho-throwing’ Chinese

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Prosecutor in Mandaluyong City has approved the filing of criminal case in court against Chinese national Zhang Jiale who went viral for throwing taho or soybean dessert at a police officer last Saturday.

“Respondent’s act is an abrasive affront against an officer in uniform representing a national institution,” read the inquest resolution signed by Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Leynard Dumlao and approved by City Prosecutor Bernabe Augustus Solis.

The prosecutor said probable cause exists to charge Zhang in court.

For probable cause to exist in direct assault, the prosecutor explained that the assault and force employed “must be serious in character as to indicate respondent’s determination to defy the law and its representative at all hazards.”

In this case, the resolution noted that the throwing of the cup of taho to complainant Police Officer 1 (PO1) William Cristobal who was performing his duties as police officer “is considered deliberate and serious defiance.”

“It is offensive both by legal and moral norm considering that there was no provocation on the part of the police officer,” read the resolution.

However, the Prosecutor dismissed the complaint for disobedience because it is considered “necessary consequence of the assault while the unjust vexation is deemed absorbed in direct assault.” /je