The scandalous “rat bread” case, in which a bakery outlet owner alleged the body of a rat was found in a loaf of bread of a rival franchise, ended up being a hoax cooked up by the accuser himself.
Police said Friday they have sought an arrest warrant for the 35-year-old owner, surnamed Kim, taking into consideration the severity of the case that has caused a huge public stir for the last few days.
Police said Kim confessed that he put the rat’s body into the loaf of bread he baked himself on the morning of Dec. 23, took photos of it and uploaded them onto the Internet, using someone else’s ID. He will be charged with violation of information protection and other related laws.
Kim surrendered himself to the police at 8:55 p.m., Thursday and confessed to the fabrication of the “rat bread.”
"I put a rat’s body into the bread to deliver a light blow to the rival store, but the case grew far bigger than I expected," he told reporters, while being taken away by police officers. “I’m solely responsible for this case and I hope that this won’t damage others.”
Kim, the owner of an outlet of bakery franchise Tous Les Jours, said he made up the case to steal customers from a Paris Baguette shop that is located about 100 meters from his store in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul.
Paris Baguette, a unit of food conglomerate SPC Group, is the nation’s largest bakery chain, and Tous Les Jours is the runner-up chain, belonging to CJ Foodville.
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