Four stand trial for massive food poisoning in south China
21/10/2008 17:19
Four people are on trial in south China's boom city Shenzhen on charges of
deliberately poisoning food at a snack bar, killing two diners and sickening 63
others early this year.
The suspects include a private business runner, a
manager of the Hong Kong-listed BYD Company and two migrants.
Zhu Yuanlin, a
33-year-old businessman from Huidong County in Guangdong Province, was suspected
to have masterminded the poisoning to pressure the local government into
demolishing a booming marketplace that had left his own stores in the same
neighborhood unfrequented, according to the prosecution.
On Feb. 20, Zhu
reached a deal with BYD Company's human resources manager Zhang Zhenhua, who
would get a 500,000 yuan (US$71,500) discount in rental fees to run a skating
rink, bar and billiards at Zhu's stores.
In exchange, Zhang would have to rid
the marketplace by all means within four weeks.
Zhu and Zhang agreed that
massive food poisoning at its eateries would force the government to demolish
the market. Zhang sent his friend Ke Bizhi, a migrant worker, to buy sodium
nitrite, and Wang Yingde, another migrant, sneaked into a snack bar early on
Feb. 23 to throw the chemical.
All the 65 people who had lunch at the snack
bar that day were poisoned. Most of the victims were employees of the nearby BYD
Company. A 21-year-old man and a woman of 18 died.
Police detected sodium
nitrite in the water collected from the restaurant drains and cloths used to
cover food. The chemical was also found on top of the kitchen ranges.
"I
didn't know what it was," Wang said at court yesterday. "I just did what I'd
been told."
Zhang and Ke also claimed they didn't know sodium nitrite was
toxic. "I thought it could cause diarrhea at most," said Zhang.
Ke said he
"googled" for a store to buy the chemical. "I should have googled what it was as
well."
The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court heard the case yesterday and
would announce its verdict on a separate date.
BYD has 120,000 employees in
China and produces rechargeable batteries, IT parts and autos.
Xinhua
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