Man detained after restaurant cockroach scam revealed

A man in Beijing was detained in an extortion case where he put cockroaches in his mouth when dining and then attempted to blackmail the restaurants.

The diner surnamed Chen claimed to have found it in his food when dining in a restaurant in Beijing's Haidian district, according to the police.

To prevent harm to the restaurant's reputation, the business promptly offered to change the dishes and treat him to a free meal. However, Chen refused the offer and left the restaurant after paying.

Later, Chen called the restaurant and demanded 10 times the meal price as compensation, threatening to post about the incident online if his demands were not met. The restaurant agreed to Chen's demand and paid the money. Chen also asked the restaurant to buy him a carton of cigarettes.

The restaurant realized something was wrong and reported the incident to the police. Upon investigation, the police found several similar cases involving other businesses.

The police arrested Chen and discovered the tools used in the crime, including cockroaches stored in a chewing gum can.

According to Chen's confession, the cockroaches were purchased from his hometown. After boiling the cockroaches, he would select ones in good shape and keep them in the gum container.

Chen confessed he was unemployed and running out of money, which led him to the idea of extorting restaurants.

In an attempt to increase his chances of success, Chen specifically targeted high-end restaurants, ordered expensive dishes and threatened to expose the incidents online.

Chen was placed under criminal detention. Further investigation is underway.