Foul-smelling ‘chemical’ may have been oolong tea, son of milk tea shop owner says

The son of the owner of the milk tea shop in Manila where two people died after sipping a drink insisted on Friday that he did not bring any chemical to the store. 

 

At a press conference, Lloyd Abrigo denied the allegations of the helper at the Ergo Cha milk tea shop that he brought a foul-smelling liquid to the shop a night before two people, including his father, died after drinking milk tea prepared there last week.

 

"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," he said. 

 

"Hindi ko po alam kung ano ang sinasabi niyang masangsang na amoy dahil mga panahon po iyon, the night before [noong] 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 explained. 

 

On April 9, two people died while another was rushed to the hospital after tasting milk tea from Ergo Cha in Sampaloc, Manila. One of the victims was the owner of the shop, William Abrigo, who prepared the drinks himself. 

 

Based on the timeline of events from the Department of Health, the first two victims — couple Suzanne Dagohoy and Arnold Aydalla — had the milk tea before 11 a.m.

 

Dagohoy experienced retching, dizziness, loss of consciousness, twitching of extremities, and pallor, which happened three minutes after intake. She died at 3:55 p.m.

 

Aydalla, on the other hand, experienced fast breathing, chest tightness, weakness of extremities, and carpopedal spasms seven minutes after he sipped the tea.

He is recovering at the Philippine General Hospital.

 

The last victim was William Abrigo. Three minutes after he drank the milk tea, he experienced weakness, loss of consciousness, and generalized tonic-clonic convulsion. He died at 4:45 p.m.

 

According to Lloyd Abrigo, he only noticed a foul smell at the shop only after he went to the hospital where his father was taken. 

 

He also said that he does not know the ins and outs of managing the store. His father and their helper, Joseph, usually prepared drinks for the customers, he said.

 

"Madalas po si Joseph at si Papa. Bihirang-bihira lang ako... Hindi ko kabisado [ang ins and outs ng tindihan]," he said. 

 

DOH, Food and Drug Administration, and toxicologists said that there were no traces of suspected toxic substances in the milk tea that they tested.

 

But they stressed that those were the results of the preliminary investigation. More tests are underway to pinpoint what killed Dagohoy and the elder Abrigo. — Trisha Macas/JDS, GMA News