Man charged for allegedly trying to slip drug into woman's drink

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A Los Angeles man was charged Tuesday with two felony counts for allegedly trying to slip a drug into a woman's drink at a Santa Monica hotel bar.

Michael Roe Chien Hsu, 24, pleaded not guilty to one count each of administering a drug and assault with intent to commit a sex crime. Hsu's bail, which was initially set at $1 million, was cut to $350,000.

Three women saw Hsu allegedly trying to spike the drink of his female companion while she was in a rest room at the Fig restaurant inside the Fairmont Miramar Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard, one of the three wrote in a Facebook posting.

"He pulled her glass toward him, kind of awkwardly, then he took out a little black vial,'' according to her account on Facebook. "He opened it up and dropped something in. Then he tried to play it cool, like checking his phone and hiding the vial in his hand and then trying to bring it back down slyly.''

The suspect's companion was told about the alleged spiking, as was restaurant staff, who called police. The would-be victim allegedly told one of the witnesses that the suspect was one of her closest friends.

Hsu was arrested by Santa Monica police Thursday and has remained jailed since then.

He is due back in court June 14, when a hearing is scheduled to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.

If convicted as charged, he faces up to six years in state prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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