False: Old UK drink-spiking case resurfaces with misleading claims about suspect and injury
A Chinese influencer on X has revived a four-year-old case involving British woman Millie Taplin with several misleading claims.
The post falsely said that Taplin, then 18, drank a beverage in the U.K. that had been spiked by an “anti-West” Muslim man, leaving her body “locked” and “frozen.”
It further suggested her condition is permanent and included a short video that appears to present a before-and-after comparison of Taplin. The post went on to claim that police are now hunting for the suspect.
However, in reality, Taplin’s case dates back to August 2021, when she was hospitalized after her drink was apparently spiked during a night out at a nightclub in Southend, Essex, according to a news report by Sky News.
There is no public record that any suspect was arrested or that the person who spiked her drink was identified by race or religion. Police said at the time they were investigating the incident.
Annie Lab found that the supposed “pre-paralysis” image is not from before the incident at all, but from Taplin’s later appearance on ITV’s “This Morning,” where she discussed the episode and her recovery.
The video clip of Taplin in a hospital bed with her hands clawed and body rigid is authentic and was filmed by her mother, who released it in 2021 to warn others about drink spiking, according to U.K. media coverage.
Taplin was treated in hospital for several hours and discharged the next day. In the TV show, she described feeling “frozen” and unable to move or speak while remaining conscious, but she made a full physical recovery.
There is no credible evidence that she suffered permanent paralysis or long-term physical damage, contrary to what the viral post claims.
The segment of This Morning show in which she recounts the incident and confirms her full recovery is available on YouTube.
