Wyoming microbiology student arrested at LAX after poisoning colleague's tea
Aili Wang, 32, was arrested at Los Angeles airport on 6 October, accused of poisoning a fellow graduate student's tea with acrylamide and attempting to flee to China.
Chinese graduate student held at LAX after colleague poisoned with chemical bought on eBay
A Chinese microbiology graduate student at the University of Wyoming has been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on charges of poisoning a colleague's tea and attempting to leave the United States, theguardian.com reports.
Aili Wang, 32, was taken into custody on 6 October at LAX, where prosecutors allege she was attempting to board a flight back to China. Police recovered laptops, electronic storage devices and documents from her possession at the time of arrest.
The alleged victim, identified in court documents only as "KT", began experiencing extreme tiredness, an inability to sleep and other unexplained symptoms shortly after attending a prestigious academic conference in August. He noticed an unusual taste in tea he brewed using a small coffee maker on his desk.
Mark Gomelsky, the microbiology professor overseeing both graduate students, said a chemistry colleague tested the water from the coffee maker after suspicions grew that someone in the shared office might be responsible. The chemical acrylamide was identified. Gomelsky confirmed Wang had purchased the substance twice last summer via eBay, and later allegedly asked eBay to delete her account.
"It's been disheartening, to say the least, to see that one of your students' lives is in jeopardy and another student may be responsible for that," Gomelsky told the Associated Press. "That was one of the worst shocks in my professional career."
Once the chemical was detected, the victim and campus police installed surveillance cameras in the office space he and Wang shared at the university's Laramie campus. According to a University of Wyoming campus police officer's affidavit, Wang was recorded on 27 September going through the alleged victim's desk. On 1 October, footage showed her photographing and handling notebooks on his desk, and rinsing out his mug with liquid from her own.
Prosecutors further allege Wang was seen on surveillance video rummaging through the desk of the victim, who held pending patents and specialised in technology for disease treatment — research similar to work Wang had previously conducted in China. Court documents state the two did not share research areas and did not get along.
Wang remained in custody without bail in Los Angeles as of Tuesday. No attorney was listed for her in court documents, and attempts by the AP to contact her by email and LinkedIn went unanswered.
She faces a felony aggravated assault and battery charge in Wyoming, carrying a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Albany County Circuit Court Judge Robert Sanford granted prosecutors' request to raise her bond to $1.5 million cash-only. It remained unclear when Wang could be extradited to Wyoming.
Gomelsky said he remained uncertain whether the victim would make a full recovery. US officials have for several years raised concerns about the theft of intellectual property from American universities, and the case has drawn attention in that context given Wang's alleged access to the victim's research materials and devices.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)