2016 Punjab sweet poisoning

A plate with laddu

From April 20 to May 8 2016, at least 33 people, including five children, died in Punjab, Pakistan after eating a purposely poisoned laddu, a baked confection.[1] A chemical examination indicated the illegal presence of an agriculture pesticide, chlorfenapyr, in the sweets. On May 8 2016, it was reported that the police had arrested an 18-year-old man, Khalid Mahmood, who police said mixed the chlorfenapyr into the dough to teach his brother a lesson.[2]

Causes

A pesticide shop, close by the bakery where the sweets were bought, was being renovated, and the owner had left his products at the bakery for safekeeping.[3] Mahmood may have used a small packet in the sweet mixture.[4]

A man bought 5kg of laddu for the celebration of a newborn on 17 April. At least 50 people consumed the sweets and ten of them died the same day.[3] On 25 April, the death toll rose to 23 with 52 people still being treated at various hospitals.[4] On 1 May the death toll rose to 33 with 13 people in hospital.[5][3] The baby lost his father, six of his uncles and one aunt.

Aftermath

Two shop owners, and one worker, were initially arrested.[3] Two weeks later the police announced that Mahmood had confessed.[2]

The Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, stated that the incident would be thoroughly investigated, and ordered the police to find and take action against the responsible people.[6]

The Chief Minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif, visited Layyah on 2 May, and expressed his condolences and regrets for the loss of life.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pakistan poisoned sweets death toll climbs to 33". Mail Online. 1 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 Dawn, "Layyah Death Toll 32", May 8 2016, page 2
  3. 1 2 3 4 Agence France-Presse (1 May 2016). "Mass Food Poisoning Kills 33 Including 5 Children In Pakistan's Multan". NDTV.com.
  4. 1 2 "Poisoned sweets kill 23 people in Pakistan". ABC News.
  5. ↑ Liza van Lonkhuyzen. "Minstens 33 doden in Pakistan door gif in snoepgoed". nrc.nl.
  6. 1 2 "Toxic sweets case: CM Punjab visits Layyah, expresses grief over deaths - Pakistan - Dunya News". dunyanews.tv.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.