Coca-Cola and 7-Up bottles were found to contain urine! A 63-year-old man in Hong Kong, allegedly seeking revenge on supermarkets, put contaminated beverages back on the shelves, causing a 9-year-old boy to accidentally drink and be hospitalized. Police have arrested the suspect, and the case has shocked the entire city.
The arrested man is suspected of injecting urine into bottled drinks at multiple supermarkets. He has been charged with “administering poison or other destructive or noxious substances with intent to injure.” As the case involves food safety, police are taking it very seriously, with the West Kowloon Regional Crime Unit taking over the investigation.
Police said that at the end of July, they received reports that, over the past year, several supermarkets in Sham Shui Po, Mong Kok, and Wan Chai had discovered some Coca-Cola and 7-Up bottled drinks suspected of being injected with urine. In one case, a 9-year-old boy drank the contaminated drink and felt unwell, requiring hospitalization. He has since been discharged.
Through intelligence analysis and reviewing surveillance footage, the police quickly identified the suspect. On August 9, police raided his residence in Sham Shui Po, arrested him on the spot, and seized clothing, a backpack involved in the case, and seven suspicious bottles. Preliminary testing showed that these drinks were suspected to contain urine, but no poisonous substances were detected.
The suspect is a 63-year-old unemployed man from Hong Kong. He admitted that, having previously experienced rude treatment at a certain chain supermarket, he sought revenge by injecting urine into soda bottles at his residence and then putting them back on the shelves of several supermarkets he frequented. Police believe he acted alone and that this is an isolated incident. Besides the aforementioned sodas, no other foods or beverages were involved, and most of the contaminated drinks were discovered during routine supermarket checks.
The man is currently being detained for investigation and will appear in Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court on August 12.