Taiwan McDonald's bombings

The first bomb exploded at a restaurant in Taipei on the afternoon of April 28, 1992. A device had been located in the male toilets in the restaurant and the bomb squad were in attendance at the time. The bomb went off as it was either being removed from the restaurant or as an attempt was being made to defuse it in situ. The resulting explosion killed one bomb squad officer. Later that day another bomb exploded in a telephone booth outside a McDonald's in Kaohsiung in the south of the country. The devices were found to have been triggered by mercury tilt switches. On April 29, another bomb detonated in the Taipei suburb of Yonghe. The device had again been found in the men's room and detonated as it was being examined by the restaurant manager, leaving them in a critical condition and hospitalising another employee. Flying glass from the explosion also injured two children. ==Response==

On April 29, Taiwan McDonald's Corp announced the indefinite closure of 49 of its restaurants and offered a NT$12 million ($480,000) reward for assistance in finding those responsible for the bombings. The firm also said that it was working closely with police to improve security at its restaurants after which they would reopen. ==Convictions==

On May 16, Chen Hsi-Hsieh, a plumber, and Pan Che-Ming were arrested and charged with murder and extortion by the local prosecutor, who demanded the death penalty for both. Chen was convicted of murder and extortion and sentenced to life in prison by a Taipei District Court on November 25, 1992. His accomplice Pan was sentenced to 15 years and six months for providing the explosives and harboring Chen. The presiding judge explained that they had not used the death penalty as they did not believe that Chen and Pan really intended to kill, demonstrated by them leaving a note for police explaining how to defuse the devices. ==See also==