A cup of tea reveals a potential crime.. Chinese student accused of poisoning her colleague
Amman3 min read
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An unusual change in the taste of a cup of tea led to the opening of a poisoning investigation at the University of Wyoming, which ended with the arrest of a Chinese graduate student at Los Angeles airport while she was attempting to leave the United States.
According to the Associated Press, US authorities arrested 32-year-old Yilei Wang on October 6 on suspicion of poisoning one of her university colleagues, after he reported health symptoms and noticed a change in the taste of the tea he was drinking.
Wang faces a charge of aggravated assault, while no judicial conviction has been issued against her, and the accusations against her remain in the realm of suspicion until they are adjudicated by the court.
The threads of the case began to unravel after tests showed the presence of the chemical "acrylamide" in the water of a machine the student used to prepare tea, which prompted investigators to look into how the substance reached the water.
According to the police, authorities resorted to installing surveillance cameras inside the office shared by the two students, with the aim of monitoring any actions that might help identify the source of the substance.
The recordings, according to the investigations, showed Wang searching her colleague's desk, browsing his notebooks and taking pictures of them, in addition to rinsing his cup using a liquid from a cup she was carrying.
Investigators also suspect that the student purchased the chemical through the "eBay" platform, before later requesting the deletion of her account on the site.
The Associated Press reported that authorities found laptops, storage media, and documents in Wang's possession upon her arrest, as part of the investigation into the circumstances of the case.
The student suspected of being poisoned works on developing technologies to treat diseases and has patent applications under review, which added another dimension to the case.
However, investigations have not proven a link between the student's research and the suspected poisoning incident, nor have authorities announced a specific motive behind the incident, and no charges related to the theft of scientific research have been filed.
According to the report, Wang was being held in Los Angeles without bail at the time the information was published, while a court in the state of Wyoming set a cash bail of $1.5 million.
It was not clear at the time when she would be transferred to Wyoming to complete the judicial proceedings.
The case is still under consideration before the American judiciary, pending the completion of investigations and legal procedures, with the emphasis that the accusations directed at Wang have not been proven by a judicial ruling so far.
