Taho-throwing woman to stay in jail longer

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 11) — The Chinese woman who threw taho, or soy custard, at a policeman in a Metro Rail Transit station over the weekend may have to stay at the detention facility of the Mandaluyong Police a bit longer as the prosecutor has yet to release a resolution regarding its finding in the cases filed against her.

"Although ang case niya is bailable, wala pang recommendation ang piskal kung magkano at anong cases ang ituloy at magbe-bail siya," Mandaluyong Police Chief SSupt. Moises Villaceran said Monday.

[Translation: Although the case is bailable, the fiscal does not have a recommendation yet on how much the bail is, what cases would be pressed ahead and if she will post bail.]

Villaceran added that Jiale Zhang, the taho-throwing Chinese national, could file a motion before the prosecutor to post bail for her temporary freedom, but that would be "some sort of admission of the probable cause."

Zhang is facing unjust vexation, direct assault, and disobedience to authority cases over the incident.

The Philippine National Police has also asked the Immigration bureau to declare Zhang as an undesirable alien.

Zhang's lawyer, Sandra Respall said her client was very apologetic about the incident and would still want to stay in the Philippines.

"It's a lesson learned. She should never be emotional in any situation. She should always use her head because of the consequences of an act," Respall said.

READ: Chinese student who threw ‘taho’ at MRT cop faces possible deportation

'Let's not blow up the issue'

PO1 William Cristobal, the policeman who was at the receiving end of the taho-throwing incident, admitted that he felt belittled by Zhang's actions.

"Naka-uniform ako, then on-duty sa sarili kong bansa, then foreigner ang mag-ano sa iyo. Siyempre manliliit po tayo," Cristobal said.

[Translation: I'm in uniform and on-duty in my own country, then a foreigner would do that to me. Of course, I'll feel belittled.]

READ: Policeman in MRT 'taho' throwing gets medal

Meanwhile, the Malacañang appealed to "not blow up the issue," saying the incident occurs everywhere.

"There had been rudeness from other nationalities, but it's not limited to Chinese. Kasi kung minsan, rude din 'yung tao, 'yung Pilipino. Kaya nagti-trigger ng conflict between the two," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said during a Palace press briefing. "But foreign nationals should always behave."

[Translation: There had been rudeness from other nationalities, but it's not limited to Chinese. Sometimes, the Filipino person is rude too. That's why it triggers conflict between the two … But foreign nationals should always behave.]

CNN Philippines' Gerg Cahiles and Alyssa Rola contributed to this report.