TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Sunday (Feb. 4), a well-known hotel in Taipei’s Ximen business district received a bomb threat via email.

The email was discovered by hotel staff around 8 a.m. and claimed that three remote-controlled explosive devices had been placed inside the hotel. The message said the bombs would be detonated at 1:30 p.m. unless an NT$20 million (US$636,000) sum was paid, reported LTN.

The hotel management immediately contacted police who searched the premises and investigated the source of the email. As 1:30 p.m. passed without incident, the police suspected the threat was not genuine.

Police also noted that the person who sent the threatening email did not include details on how the payment should be made. Later in the afternoon, it was reported that the IP address of person who sent the email was found to be located in the United States, although the possible use of a VPN can not be ruled out. 

Out of an abundance of caution, police officers are increasing patrols to maintain surveillance of the hotel and nearby streets in hopes of identifying a possible suspect.