Man sentenced to 3 years for putting bathroom cleaner into patient’s IV line

Daejeon Feb 22 (BUS): A 32-year-old man was sentenced to three years in prison for putting liquid bathroom cleaner into another patient’s intravenous drip line for unclear reasons while in hospital for burn treatment.

The man committed the crime in a hospital in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, in March last year. After the injection, the patient complained of chest pains and the nurse changed the IV solution, but the man put the cleaner in the line again about an hour later.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that the victim had chest pain, substance poisoning, and multiple organ dysfunction.

The defendant, who was drunk at the time, reportedly claimed that antiseptic could clean blood vessels.

He had a record of previous crimes, such as breaking and entering under the influence of alcohol in August 2020, and leaking liquid petroleum gas in front of someone else’s house.

“The defendant should be severely punished for committing peculiar crimes such as poisoning the sleeping victim by mixing disinfectant with the victim’s IV solution,” said the Daejeon District Court.

HF