Poison dumplings man on trial
Print Edition
A CHINESE man stood on trial in a northern city yesterday for injecting poison into frozen dumplings that sickened 13 people in China and Japan in early 2008.
The former employee of a dumplings plant in Shijiazhuang told the court that he pulled off the crime just over his frustration with his wages.
Journalists, as well as officials from the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, were present at the hearing in Hebei’s provincial capital of Shijiazhuang.
Prosecutors charged Lu Yueting, 39, of adding dangerous substances into the dumplings, leaving nine Japanese, from three families, and four Chinese poisoned, one of them seriously.
Lu confessed to the crime in court, saying he was sorry for the victims and that he had not imagined it would lead to such serious consequences.
Lu, who worked at the Tianyang Food Plant in Shijiazhuang, was unhappy with his pay and was trying to attract the attention of managers with his act to get a pay raise, prosecutors said.
Between July and August 2007, Lu attempted to inject insecticide into the dumplings with syringes at the plant’s refrigeration storehouse, but failed.
Then between October and December of 2007, he re-entered the storehouse on three occasions and injected methamidophos, a type of pesticide, into six to nine boxes of frozen dumplings, prosecutors said.
The tainted products were sold in Japan and Hebei’s Chengde City. Nine Japanese and four Chengde residents fell sick after consuming the dumplings. One of them was listed in serious condition.
The incident forced the plant to recall millions of packs of its products and suspend production.
But tests showed that the recalled dumplings from the same batch that were sent to Japan, as well as other batches produced by the company around the same time, were safe, according to Chinese quality inspectors.
The plant was investigated by both Chinese and Japanese authorities shortly after the incident, and irregularities were found, according to Xinhua news agency.
Lu was arrested in March 2010 after police found syringes in his house.
Lu’s lawyer pleaded with the court for a lighter sentence. He faces the death sentence if the charges against him stand.
The court said a verdict will be announced at a later date.
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