XUZHOU: Police detained 34 suspects nationwide who allegedly sold toxic weight-loss foods and drugs that allegedly killed a two-year-old girl in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province.
The girl who accidentally drank her mother’s weight loss chocolate was sent to the hospital in March to pump her stomach.
However, she died of an overdose of the appetite suppressant sibutramine following breathing and heart failure.
Her relatives called the police, who later detected sibutramine in the girl’s body, including her liver, urine, and blood.
China has banned the manufacture, sale and use of sibutramine in the country since 2010 as it can cause serious damage to the cardiovascular system.
“Originally used to treat depression, it was later widely used to lose weight after the weight loss effect was found to be more pronounced than the anti-depression effect,” Nanjing Medical School said. University.
Police later discovered that toxic chocolate was purchased from the internet by the girl’s mother.
They detained 34 suspects from 14 state-level areas and seized many illegal chocolates and pills.
“Many of the suspects are young women who deliberately bought and sold illegal weight-loss chocolates and pills on the Internet,” said Li Juan, the prosecutor in charge of the case.
The sale of diet foods containing illegal additives is sometimes talked about in the Chinese media.
Many of them use sibutramine, which is sold as chocolate, coffee, or other products that appear to be harmless to your health.
In April, 75 suspects, including former Internet influencer Guo Meimei, were detained by Shanghai police for manufacturing and selling diet foods containing sibutramine.
According to the Chinese Criminal Code, anyone who adds toxic or harmful additives to food or intentionally sells such food will be fined and imprisoned for up to 5 years.
According to the law, anyone who causes death or other serious consequences will be punished more severely, including life imprisonment or the death penalty. — China Daily / ANN
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