Police investigate suspected poisoning of neighbor with weed killer

On May 21, Nam Dan District Police are coordinating with Nam Xuan Commune Police to investigate and clarify the case of a family of five reporting that they were suspected of being poisoned by a neighbor with herbicide.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi V (born in 1990, residing in Hamlet 7, Nam Xuan Commune): In August 2018, Ms. V lost a large amount of money and suspected that Ms. Th.'s family (neighbor) stole it, so she texted Ms. Th.'s child to ask.

“At that time, I asked if I took it, please give it back to me, if not, then forget it, I apologize. But then Mrs. Th.’s family filed a complaint with the commune, saying that I falsely accused them of stealing money. The commune then investigated and determined that I did not falsely accuse them, but only asked out of suspicion. The matter was later reconciled, but Mrs. Th.’s family refused,” said Ms. V.

Ms. Th. carried a strange bottle into Ms. V's house. Photo cut from camera

Recently, Ms. V installed a security camera and was surprised to discover that Ms. Th. had brought a strange bottle of water into her house. Suspecting that Ms. Th. had brought poison into her family, Ms. V reported the incident to the Nam Xuan Commune Police for investigation.

“On May 15, I watched the camera at 7:36 a.m. and saw Ms. Th. carrying a bottle of water into my house. But the door was locked so she ran out. I reported it to the commune police. The commune police invited Ms. Th. to come in for questioning, and Ms. Th. admitted that on May 14, she had poured a bottle of weed killer into my family's well. On May 15, Ms. Th. brought a bottle of weed killer again with the intention of putting it in my family's shampoo bottle, but because the door was locked, she went home,” Ms. V explained.

Mrs. Th. left because Ms. V's door was locked. Photo cut from camera

Due to fear of poisoning, 5 people in Ms. Van's family, including 3 adults and 2 children, went to Nghe An General Hospital for examination. The hospital advised the family to go to Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi) for examination. Fortunately, all 5 people tested negative for the poison.

Fearing future health effects, Ms. V's family asked the police to investigate and clarify the incident.

Ms. V's family is afraid that the well water the family uses for drinking and daily activities is contaminated. Photo: Quynh Trang

On May 20, Nam Dan District Police and Nam Xuan Commune Police came to collect water samples from Ms. V's family and invited Ms. Th. to the police station to take her statement and investigate the case.