I didn’t bring chemical to our shop, says son of milk tea shop owner

PHOTO BY NESTOR CORRALES/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

The son of a milk tea shop owner on Friday denied he brought a chemical to their store, which claimed the lives of his father and a customer.

“Wala po akong dalang kemikal. Humingi po ako sa kanya ng lalagyan at ang nilagay ko po doon ay tubig. Ang sinasabi niya pong kemikal ay tubig lamang po na galing sa gripo sa loob po ng tindahan,” Lloyd Abrigo said in a press briefing.

(I didn’t bring a chemical. I asked him to give me a case which I filled with water. What he was saying as chemical was actually tap water from the store.)

Abrigo was referring to the claim made by one of their helpers that he brought a foul-smelling liquid to the tea shop, the ErgoCha Milk Tea Shop in Sampaloc, Manila .

“Hindi ko po alam kung ano ang sinasabi niyang masangsang na amoy dahil mga panahon pong iyon, the night before April 8, nagluluto po ako ng oolong tea kasi meron po itong matapang na amoy na siguro kung hindi sanay ang tao, masasabi niya pong masangsang ang amoy nito,” he said.

(I don’t know what he’s claiming to be a foul smell. That night before April 8, I was brewing oolong tea which actually has a strong smell which people who may not know it could say there’s foul smell.)

“Hindi pa rin po kami makapaniwala na wala na ang aming padre de pamilya,” he said.

(We can’t still believe our father is dead.)

Abrigo assured authorities that their family would cooperate in the investigation for the truth to come out soon.

On April 9, two people died including Lloyd’s father, William, after drinking milk tea sold from their milk tea shop.

Customers Suzanne Dagohoy and Arnold Aydalla had ordered a Hokkaido-flavored milk tea but immediately complained about its bad taste.

To refute the claim, William Abrigo took a sip of the milk tea sold to the two customers. Not satisfied, he mixed himself the same milk tea and drank it. He collapsed a few minutes after that and died later in the hospital.

Dagohoy, meanwhile, had collapsed outside of the shop while Aydalla experienced dizziness. The two were taken to a hospital where Dagohoy later died. Aydalla was in a critical condition but survived and discharged from the hospital.

According to the preliminary findings of the Department of health (DOH), it did not find any toxic substance in the milk tea.

The DOH and the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) is conducting further tests to find out what really killed Dagohoy and Abrigo.