Chinese taho thrower back in jail

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) re-arrested on Tuesday the Chinese student who threw a cup of taho or soybean dessert at a police officer after she was barred from entering the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) station in Mandaluyong City on Feb. 9.

Jiale Zhang, 23, had just stepped out of the Mandaluyong regional trial court after posting P12,000 bail for a direct assault case filed by the city prosecutor’s office when she was taken into custody by BI operatives.

Zhang is being held at the BI facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City for violating the country’s immigration laws.

BI spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said Zhang was arrested on orders of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente. 

“Zhang was tagged as an undesirable alien for posing as a risk to public interest. The incident showed her disrespect to the country,” Sandoval said.

She said Zhang would undergo deportation proceedings and may be blacklisted to prevent her from returning to the Philippines.

The BI Board of Commissioners is expected to resolve Zhang’s deportation case in the next few weeks, according to Sandoval.

Authorities said the Chinese fashion design student would stand trial on charges of direct assault while being held at the BI jail. 

The BI must wait for the resolution of the criminal proceedings against Zhang before it could issue a deportation order, Sandoval explained.

“Her criminal charges will run independent from her immigration case,” she said.

A case of direct assault was filed against Zhang before the Mandaluyong court based on the complaint of Police Officer 1 William Cristobal.

Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Leynard Dumlao found probable cause to file the case against Zhang. 

“The respondent’s act is an abrasive affront against a police officer in uniform representing a national institution,” read the resolution approved by City Prosecutor Bernabe Augustus Solis.

Solis described Zhang’s act of throwing taho at Cristobal as “deliberate and a serious defiance.”

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

If found guilty of direct assault, Zhang faces four years in prison and P1,000 fine under Article 148 of the Revised Penal Code.

Zhang received flak after a photograph of Cristobal doused with taho went viral on Facebook.

She entered the Boni station of the MRT-3 at around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday carrying a cup of taho.

Cristobal told Zhang to consume the dessert first before she could enter the train station, but she refused and threw taho at the policeman.

The MRT-3 and Light Rail Transit Authority banned bottled drinks and other liquids as part of security measures following the recent bombings in Mindanao.