Public security officials in central China's Hubei Province on
Saturday confirmed that a mass food poisoning that killed six
people last weekend was caused by misuse of a highly toxic rat
poison known as "Dushuqiang".
A specially-formed key task police team, consisting of police
personnel from three levels of Hubei Province, Jinzhou City and
Gong'an County, made the conclusion.
The investigation found that around midday on Nov. 11, Chen
Ruyan, a salvage station worker near the Qingshibei Pump Station of
Qinghe Village, Ganjiachang Township of Gong'an County, was
preparing lunch.
In the process, Chen found the rice dough he was preparing for
making tangyuan, a kind of rice dumplings, was quite watery and he
decided to add more rice flour. Unfortunately, he mistook rat
poison that had been placed together with other condiments as flour
and mixed it into the dough.
Two elderly people collapsed and died about 20 minutes after
having consumed the rice dumplings. Six others soon developed
symptoms of poisoning and were rushed to hospital. Four later died
while under care.
Chen, the cook, also died from poisoning.
The two surviving poisoning victims have been transferred to
Jinzhou Central Hospital for further medical treatment. They are
still in critical condition.
Investigators found Chen, who used to sell the rat poison for
profit, had wrongly placed the chemicals inside the kitchen when he
moved his home over to the salvage station.
An autopsy found traces of rat poison in Chen's nails and more
than 200 more grams of the same poison in a cupboard at his
home.
(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2007)