‘Brave and strong’: Chinese victim of unsolved poisoning case dies, prompting flood of sympathy and anger

Tsinghua University says former student Zhu Ling, who was disabled from thallium poisoning nearly 30 years ago, has died following prolonged illness
Social media users express grief and outrage over lack of justice in the infamous cold case

China education

Jane Caiin Beijing

Published: 10:00pm, 23 Dec 2023

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A Chinese woman who made headlines nearly 30 years ago as the victim in an unsolved poisoning case has died, triggering an outpouring of sympathy and anger on social media.

Zhu Ling, who turned 50 last month, died on Friday night after a long battle with illness, according to a Weibo post by Tsinghua University, the prestigious Beijing institution she was attending when she was poisoned with thallium three decades ago.

In the message posted on Saturday, the university described her as “brave and strong”.

Zhu fell ill in late 1994, when she was in her third year at the university and majoring in chemistry. She complained she was losing hair and in pain.

It was not until the following April that doctors in Beijing confirmed Zhu had been poisoned with thallium, an acutely toxic substance that is hard to detect. She was diagnosed with the help of the internet after friends exchanged messages about her symptoms with global medical experts in an attempt to get answers.

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The poison left Zhu paralysed, nearly blind and with the mental capacity of a child, and she was cared for by her parents in Beijing after she became ill. The mystery of who poisoned her was never solved.

Her father, Wu Chengzhi, a retired engineer from the China Earthquake Administration and now in his 80s, said he did not feel anger over the lack of justice in her case, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

The Chinese public was shocked by the tragedy suffered by Zhu – a bright, attractive young woman who was talented at playing the guqin, a traditional string instrument.

One of Zhu’s university roommates, who was believed to be the only student she knew with access to thallium, was detained for eight hours before being released.

Facing a spate of online accusations, the woman proclaimed her innocence on social media platforms at least three times – in 2005, 2006 and 2013. She even changed her name to avoid attention as internet users continued to point the finger at her.

Zhu’s parents, friends and several members of Beijing’s political advisory body pushed for police to continue with the investigation. However, the police said there was a lack of evidence because it took too long to confirm she had been poisoned.

Zhu’s elderly parents cared for her for decades after the poison left her paralysed, nearly blind and with the mental capacity of a child. Photo: Handout

Interest in the case was revived in 2013 when the poisoning and death of a student at Fudan University in Shanghai echoed the disturbing case of Zhu.

Huang Yang, a doctoral student at Fudan University’s Shanghai Medical Colleg, died in April 2013 from multiple organ failure. He became critically ill hours after drinking water from a dispenser in his dormitory.

A few days later, investigators determined Huang had ingested N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a toxic compound that is the by-product of several chemical processes. His roommate Lin Senhao, another medical student who had written several papers on NDMA and reportedly had disagreements with Huang, was detained as the only suspect.

In 2014, Lin was convicted and sentenced to death for intentional homicide. He was executed the next year.

The case once again drew attention to the threat of poison as a weapon and fostered hope that justice might also arrive for Zhu.

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“The life of Zhu Ling has been accompanied by caring, support and encouragement from many alumni, the society and our university,” Tsinghua University said in the Weibo post.

“We sent heartfelt condolences to her family. We wish Zhu Ling a good journey accompanied by the sound of the guqin.”

The news of Zhu’s death generated more than 12,000 comments on Weibo on Saturday as social media users marked the loss.

“My sadness is beyond words. RIP. You’ll always be the most beautiful girl,” one wrote.

“I’m more than angry! Zhu Ling has lost her life, and the criminal is still at large,” another wrote.

“I was very young when I first heard about the case. So many years have passed and justice has not come,” a third said.