TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prosecutors have summoned for questioning both the father and girlfriend of an Australian college student who had to be medevaced out of the country on Wednesday (May 3) after allegedly ingesting rat poison.
Alex Shorey, a 24-year-old Australian college student who came to Taiwan as an exchange student, is suspected of being exposed to rodenticide and was admitted to the intensive care unit of Taipei Medical University Hospital. Shorey's family members said they were suspicious about the circumstances around his poisoning, and the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office has started an investigation into possible drug crimes.
On Wednesday, prosecutors summoned Shorey's father to explain the reasons for his suspicions, reported UDN. They also summoned his girlfriend, who had been living with him, and restricted her to her residence for follow-up questioning.
The case is being handled by a narcotics unit of the prosecutor's office, which investigates violations of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例). Since Shorey did not understand how he came into contact with rat poison, prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility that it could be related to the mixing of new narcotics.
As Shorey left the country aboard a medical aircraft, his girlfriend has become a key figure in the investigation.
According to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Shorey, who came to Tamkang University in New Taipei City as an exchange student, was suspected of ingesting the rodenticide superwarfarin by mistake and sent to the hospital. His family raised more than AU$200,000 (approximately NT$4 million) through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. About AU$172,000 was spent on the medical plane, while the rest will be donated to the Australian medical evacuation organization, Medical Rescue.
In a press release from April 29, Taipei Medical University Hospital said that Shorey was diagnosed by the medical team as having been exposed to the second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide, superwarfarin. He was transferred to the intensive care unit for observation and treatment due to an allergic reaction to vitamin K1, before being transferred to the general ward.
Shorey said the poisoning had nothing to do with street food, as was previously rumored. However, he could not understand how he was exposed to rodenticide.
Shorey's father reportedly arrived in Taiwan a few days ago in order to arrange for his son to take the medevac flight to Australia. Although the father clarified that the poisoning had nothing to do with Taiwanese street food, he said he was puzzled by how his son could have ingested rat poison.
In response, prosecutors summoned the father to provide more detailed information.
