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墨書 Inktalez
This is a major criminal case that resulted in the poisoning of 803 people, and it is one that has stirred public outrage to the point where many believe that nothing less than severe punishment would suffice.
You would never believe that a mere 21-year-old girl, in the prime of her youth, could so heartlessly drop 700 grams of Arsenic Trioxide—known in ancient times as the world's deadliest poison—into the school cafeteria.
What is shocking is that her motive for such a heinous act stemmed from a twisted romantic relationship; when it fell apart, she felt the entire world had wronged her.
Although many years have passed since this incident, the memory of over 800 people simultaneously vomiting and crying out in agony still sends chills down one’s spine.
What exactly happened that day? Why did this girl choose to poison her innocent classmates?
Date of Incident: June 18, 1992.
Location: Zhengzhou City, Henan Province.
*
On that fateful afternoon, as the bell signaling lunchtime rang, students at Henan Province Vocational School rushed into the Second Canteen with their bowls and chopsticks. They chatted and laughed, eagerly enjoying a variety of delicious dishes.
However, within just ten minutes, this lively atmosphere came to an abrupt halt, replaced by waves of retching sounds.
As more and more students began to vomit suddenly, the president of the student council quickly realized that this could be a case of food poisoning. He rushed to the principal's office, breathless as he reported the situation at the Second Canteen.
Upon hearing the report, the principal instinctively shuddered; after all, a mass food poisoning incident at a university was no trivial matter.
What sent chills down his spine even further was that students exhibiting symptoms were not confined to the cafeteria—they were scattered throughout the entire campus. In dormitories, hallways, classrooms, and restrooms, students were vomiting even as he hurried toward the canteen.
At that moment, chaos reigned throughout the school; everywhere one could hear students crying out for help and retching in despair.
Meanwhile, the School Medical Office was overcrowded.
As time ticked away, the students who had taken the medication not only showed no signs of relief from their vomiting symptoms but also began to experience persistent high fevers and neurological dysfunction after bouts of vomiting and diarrhea.
What left the Principal in despair was that within just one hour, the number of students who had vomited had risen to over 600, and their conditions were worsening, spiraling out of control.
At that moment, military doctors from the nearby Liberation Army Academy finally arrived on the scene. They immediately decided to treat the mild cases on-site while urgently transporting the severe cases back to the academy's Key Hospital for emergency care.
Upon learning that the students' conditions had not been controlled in a timely manner, the Principal had quickly called for help from the nearby Liberation Army Academy, as the academy housed Key Hospital with its advanced medical facilities.
Soon, the first batch of severe cases was sent to the academy's hospital for gastric lavage, induced vomiting, and intravenous treatment. Although their symptoms showed some improvement, the situation remained grim because the doctors could not determine what poison they had ingested and were unable to provide targeted treatment.
Compounding the problem was that as more severe cases emerged, hospital beds began to run out. Some beds had two patients lying on them, and converting the school's guesthouse into temporary wards was still far from sufficient.
Fortunately, by evening, relevant departments in Zhengzhou City quickly dispatched a large number of personnel to the school for rescue operations after receiving reports. They swiftly transferred all individuals exhibiting poisoning symptoms to major public hospitals in Zhengzhou City for emergency treatment.
Statistics revealed that a staggering 788 people had been poisoned, including 730 students, 35 faculty members, and 23 outsiders.
Although there had been no casualties reported so far, it could not be guaranteed that these individuals were out of life-threatening danger. If the toxin could not be identified quickly, it could lead to consequences beyond anyone's endurance.
This news sent shockwaves throughout Zhengzhou. The number of poisoning cases was undoubtedly the largest in Henan's history.
To uncover the truth, while rescuing and treating those affected by poisoning, criminal investigation personnel from Zhengzhou Police also arrived at the scene.
They conducted sampling tests on 13 types of food served in the cafeteria that day and sealed off the cafeteria for investigation. The results of this inquiry left the Principal feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, trembling uncontrollably.
Around ten o'clock that night, the police detected a large amount of Arsenic Trioxide in the food served at the cafeteria, commonly known as Arsenic, a highly toxic substance. This was known in ancient times as the most potent poison in the world, and even today, it is not something that can be easily obtained.
However, this was not the time for accountability; the priority was to treat those who had been poisoned. Although there was no cure for Arsenic in ancient times, there is a specific antidote available in this era that can effectively neutralize the poison with immediate results.
The problem was that this antidote, known as Dimercaprol Sodium, is a specialized medication that is rarely needed and thus seldom stocked in hospitals. Even after searching throughout Zhengzhou City, only 30 boxes were found, which was hardly enough for the 788 poisoned individuals.
In desperation, relevant authorities had to seek help nationwide to urgently locate this antidote. Fortunately, at 4 a.m. the next day, a pharmaceutical company in Shanghai reported that they had a large stock of the antidote and would send staff immediately to deliver it.
However, by 8 a.m., the hospital in Zhengzhou reported that the number of poisoned individuals had risen to 803, with 743 in critical condition. Alarmingly, over a hundred people were already showing signs of shock and coma; time was of the essence.
Authorities immediately contacted Shanghai, urging them to find a way to airlift the antidote. However, flights from Shanghai to Zhengzhou had already been suspended, and any air transport would require support from an airline.
Just when everyone was anxious and worried, the airline stepped forward after understanding the situation. Without hesitation, they altered a flight plan for an aircraft scheduled to fly directly from Shanghai to Xi'an, instructing it to make an emergency landing in Zhengzhou.
At 11 a.m. on April 19th, the airline activated a green channel, allowing staff from the pharmaceutical company to board with over 800 boxes of the antidote.
By 1 p.m., the plane landed at Zhengzhou Airport. Once the authorities received the antidote, it was immediately distributed to various hospitals.
Soon after, the conditions of all 803 poisoned individuals began to improve, and everyone was out of life-threatening danger.
With this, the emergency response for treating those poisoned came to an end.
Meanwhile, higher authorities issued directives demanding strict accountability for negligent personnel at the school and called for a thorough investigation into the masterminds behind this major poisoning incident. How did Arsenic end up in the school cafeteria's food?
In fact, upon receiving reports, Zhengzhou Police promptly entered the school. Through comprehensive inspections of the cafeteria, technicians discovered that only two bags of flour contained traces of Arsenic.
After investigation, all the chefs who had contact with the flour were cleared of suspicion, leading the police to turn their attention to the students at the school. After extensive interviews and inquiries, they ultimately identified a female student named Li Yun as the mastermind behind the poisoning case.
Li Yun had previously been an excellent student, but after becoming involved in a toxic relationship, her demeanor changed drastically; she became unpredictable and her mental state gradually deteriorated. Following the breakup, she felt abandoned by the world and developed thoughts of revenge against society. Initially, she considered using sulfuric acid or a knife to vent her anger, but realizing that there were too many potential victims for such methods to be feasible, she discarded these weapons, hiding them in her dormitory drawer.
By chance, while researching criminal materials and books, she stumbled upon arsenic trioxide and decided to poison the school cafeteria.
However, purchasing arsenic was strictly regulated and required official seals and documentation from medical institutions. With no other options, she resorted to selling her body to obtain signatures from a printing worker, forged an official seal, and acquired a certificate from a classmate with connections to a hospital.
Yet these two items were not enough; she still needed money to buy a significant amount of arsenic. So she resorted to her previous tactics and extorted some money from an electrician at school.
With everything in place, Li Yun used her forged documents to purchase 700 grams of arsenic from a pharmacy on three different occasions—May 2nd, 12th, and 27th—under three different identities.
After two weeks of observation, on June 18th, 1992, Li Yun finally found an opportunity to infiltrate the Second Canteen of the school. She mixed 700 grams of arsenic into two bags of flour, creating a poisoning incident that endangered 803 lives. If it hadn't been for the swift response of the authorities, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Consequently, the prosecution argued that not executing Li Yun would fail to quell public outrage, would not restore public trust, and would not uphold national law. Ultimately, after court proceedings, Li Yun was sentenced to death.
In reality, such cases are unfortunately common; for instance, there were later incidents like the Tsinghua University Zhu Ling Case, the Jinghai No. 1 Middle School Seven Fairies Case, and the Fudan University Lin Senhao Case.
All these cases share a commonality: severe psychological distortion in the perpetrators.
Therefore, it is crucial for everyone to pay attention to the mental health of such individuals and help establish correct values and outlooks on life to prevent such tragedies from occurring again.
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