A meeting over suspicious banking activity ended with a woman hospitalized for days after allegedly drinking drug-laced tea.
FORT LEE, NJ – A New Jersey woman who arranged a restaurant meeting to confront an acquaintance about suspicious banking activity instead ended up unconscious and hospitalized after allegedly drinking poisoned tea. Prosecutors say the acquaintance had a cup waiting for her when she arrived, but the beverage contained a powerful prescription drug.
Rohweniven Tagulao Bacani, 52, of Hackensack, was arrested October 15 and charged with third-degree aggravated assault following a weeks-long investigation into the September 8 incident at a restaurant in Fort Lee.
The victim, a Leonia resident, became suspicious after noticing unauthorized activity in financial accounts to which Bacani had shared access. Investigators say the two women agreed to meet at the restaurant to discuss the financial irregularities, but the encounter ended with the victim collapsing and later waking up in a hospital.
Tea Was Waiting When Woman Arrived for Meeting
According to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella, Bacani arrived at the restaurant before the victim on September 8.
Investigators determined that Bacani already “had a cup of tea waiting for the victim” when the woman entered the restaurant.
The woman began drinking the tea but stopped after noticing an unusual taste.
As she was leaving the restaurant, she suddenly collapsed.
The victim later regained consciousness in a hospital, with no recollection of how she had gotten there.
She remained hospitalized for several days following the medical emergency.
According to prosecutors, the subsequent investigation determined that the tea had been contaminated with a benzodiazepine, a class of drugs commonly prescribed for anxiety, insomnia and seizure disorders.
Investigators allege Bacani deliberately added the controlled substance to the beverage.
Authorities have not publicly identified the specific benzodiazepine involved or disclosed the amount allegedly placed in the tea.
The restaurant where the incident occurred was not identified in the prosecutor’s announcement.
Financial Dispute Leads to Poisoning Investigation
The incident first came to the attention of police September 11, three days after the restaurant meeting.
The Leonia Police Department received information about a resident who had been hospitalized following what authorities described as a serious medical episode that “may have been the result of a poisoning.”
Investigators learned that the victim believed she had been poisoned by Bacani, an acquaintance with whom she shared access to certain financial accounts.
The planned meeting concerned unauthorized banking activity the victim had discovered.
Prosecutors have not disclosed the amount of money involved or specified the nature of the suspicious transactions.
The Leonia Police Department notified the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Robbery-Homicide Division, launching a joint investigation.
Detectives spent several weeks examining the circumstances surrounding the woman’s medical emergency and her meeting with Bacani.
The investigation ultimately led authorities to conclude that the victim’s tea had been deliberately contaminated with a controlled dangerous substance.
Hackensack Woman Arrested Outside Her Residence
On Wednesday, October 14, prosecutors charged Bacani with third-degree aggravated assault under New Jersey law.
The following day, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Leonia Police Department located Bacani outside her residence in Hackensack and placed her under arrest.
She was transported to the Bergen County Jail pending an initial appearance in Bergen County Superior Court.
The prosecutor’s office did not announce additional charges related to the alleged unauthorized banking activity.
The investigation involved assistance from the Fort Lee Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutors reported that the victim was recovering after her hospitalization.
The case now moves through the Bergen County court system, where the aggravated assault allegation remains subject to judicial proceedings.
Bacani is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.