Hidden Camera Exposes Engineer Allegedly Poisoning Female Colleague for 18 Months

By Njideka Agbo | IchieTimes

A hidden camera has exposed disturbing footage at the centre of a California poisoning case in which a chemical engineer allegedly contaminated his female colleague’s food and drinking water for nearly 18 months, leaving her battling severe and unexplained health problems.

David Xu, a metallurgist at Berkeley Engineering and Research, was accused of poisoning Rong Yuan with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, between 2017 and 2019.

Yuan reportedly endured persistent vomiting, hair loss and a strange sour taste in her mouth, making repeated hospital visits as her condition worsened.

Desperate to discover what was making her sick, Yuan suspected that someone at work might be tampering with her food and drinks. She installed a hidden camera, which reportedly captured Xu approaching her desk and appearing to pour a substance into her water bottle on multiple occasions.

She handed the footage to police, leading to Xu’s arrest in March 2019.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Xu’s attempted murder charges were dropped in late 2023 following a plea agreement. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of poisoning and received two years of probation, with one day of jail time credited.

He was also ordered to pay $7,058 in restitution, despite Yuan seeking nearly $500,000.

For Yuan, the footage was a horrifying confirmation of what she had feared while experiencing repeated medical emergencies. She described feeling that she had come dangerously close to death on multiple occasions.

The case has sparked questions about the punishment imposed in serious poisoning cases and the challenges victims face in obtaining compensation for the physical and emotional consequences of such incidents.

A hidden camera helped uncover what the victim suspected. But the legal outcome left a stark contrast between the severity of the alleged conduct and the punishment ultimately imposed