Mass poisoning

Nanjing, China

Chinese police this week arrested a man who they say killed at least 40 people by dumping rat poison into a restaurant’s rice balls. About 100 people were made sick, and many of the dead were children. The suspect, Cheng Zhengping, allegedly poured poison into the rice balls at his cousin’s fast-food restaurant because he was jealous of the cousin’s success. Rice balls are a common breakfast snack, and dozens of people stopped in at the restaurant on their way to work or school that day. Witnesses said victims began spitting blood after just a few bites of the poisoned food. Cheng was caught while attempting to flee by train, the Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po reported.