Pesticide-laced Chinese dumplings that sickened at least 10 people in Japan and triggered a nationwide scare were probably poisoned deliberately, said Japan’s health minister.
The frozen dumplings, produced by China’s Tianyang Food Processing Ltd., were contaminated with the pesticide methamidophos and blamed for a string of poisonings in December and January.
Investigators, however, have found traces of the pesticide on the outside of the dumplings, rather than on the filling. The poison was also found in much higher concentrations than would be expected from residue from pesticides sprayed on vegetables…
About 20 top police investigators from the areas where the poisonings took place gathered in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss the dumpling probe, and police in the two prefectures Chiba and Hyogo — the home of the 10 victims — are now looking into the dumpling contamination as an attempted murder case…
Punctures were found in a handful of the bags that were recalled or tied to poisonings…
The profit motive comes first to mind. Could have been spun for extortion like the Tylenol case in the USA, decades back.
Could have been an old-fashioned nutball. They never caught the poisoner in the Tylenol case.
“Contaminated” dumplings were probably deliberately poisoned
“…probably deliberately?” That’s like “accidentally on purpose” or, “approximately equal.” Drop the oxymorons, morons.:)
Cop-ese is the same the world over. Japanese police likely have a transliteration for “perp”.
Incidentally, your definition of oxymoron may be popular; but, it ain’t correct. True oxymorons require complete contradiction.
What? No conspiracy theories for the Year of the Rat?
True enough. It was actually my unbiased opinion.
Agree on 100%
What no LEAD? Sure that came from China? 😉
Cheers
I wanted to buy some pencils that were made in China, but they were recalled.
They had lead in them!
[Message deleted – Violation of Posting Guidelines. – ed.]
Yeah I am going nowhere near the Chinese Japanese feud. That’s at least a thousand years in the making.
Oh, yeah. Japan is reeeealy popular in China. Ha.
“The Rape of Nankang” was just one of the massacres perpetrated by the Japanese in China, and there were others in other countries, Korea, Viet Nam, etc.
The Japanese did not “play nice” in WWII, but their victims were (mostly) not white, so these atrocities are not well known in the US.
#12 Phillip “Oh, yeah. Japan is reeeealy popular in China. Ha.”
Well 15~20 years ago yes, but now just some isolated northern cities where Japanese are still not welcomed to enter even today.
In 1992 I visited Nanjing (Nanking) and attended business meetings with the company I worked for and a retired high ranking government official who lived during the Rape of Nanking. He was an extremely genial soft spoken man in his 70’s, looked like a Chinese version of Gregory Peck, with perfect English and a daughter he was proud of in university in NC…however just mention Japan and his whole demeanor changed. He would slam his hand on the table in anger and say China welcomes many countries to invest and have business here but never the Japanese devils. At the time I was there in Nanjing, 1992 you did not see any Japanese cars or products.
In 2006 my wife and I had a weekend holiday in Nanjing and we were both surprised to find many Japanese restaurants there as we joked on the train about having Teppanyaki! I thought back about the Chinese Gregory Peck I met so many years ago and it made me reflect on how much of our life we trade just for money.
You are correct Phillep, Japan has never officially apologized for its war time atrocities to China and other countries. Young Japanese growing up today learn that Japan was more or less quite honorable during WWII and plays down the despicable barbaric actions of its goverenment and armies. These horrors like the Rape of Nanking are now fading into myths. What is more important to Japanese is keeping alive the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that is what they make sure is taught in Japanese schools.
I am neutral with this, so is my wife and her family who had relatives murdered by the Japanese – my wifes grandfather and uncle both of whom were not in the army.
These terrible things Japan has done should be remembered and Japan ought to be honorable in accepting blame for what they did in WWII and humbly ask for forgiveness. However they know only too well that time is on their side.
Cheers
#13 – I’m surprised and pleased. I live in a community that has a few Bataan Death March vets and they’re so fixated on their hatred of Japanese that we never succeeded in getting a memorial to the Americans of Japanese ethnicity who were interned here during the war.
But, I experienced the same changes in the world of commerce. I worked with Japanese and American firms together starting in the early 70’s. Made a transition to Taiwan within a few years – and into business with the Mainland before the 80’s were up.
There still were silly social protocols that had to be followed so that some of the business deals appears to be wending their way through Hong Kong. As much to thwart professional patriots in Congress as folks in China who didn’t wish to deal directly with Japan.
But, by the time Deng Shaoping and the commitment to a market economy as part of Chinese commerce was thoroughly settled in – openness began to develop. Not forgiveness, especially; but, a willingness to get along.
Some of the people I deal with sell to both Japan and China, and they say they sometimes have to act as intermediaries. One said the hatred was intense from both directions.
That was just a couple months ago.