Tellurium poisoning was yesterday established as the cause of death of a man who, together with his wife, died under mysterious circumstances last weekend.
The Taipei Veterans General Hospital, which was called in to assist prosecutors with establishing the cause of death, only had samples from the male victim.
Poisoning by this chemical element has rarely been observed anywhere in the world and this is the first case in Taiwan, according to toxicologists at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
Speaking of the male victim, Wu Mu-kuei (
"It shows that he died from poisoning," Deng said.
Deng said that the human body does not normally contain such a large quantity of the element. The usual quantity of tellurium in a person's urine is less than 25 micrograms.
The female victim, Huang Hsueh-chiao (
Hualien prosecutors suspected that the couple may have been poisoned and requested assistance from the hospital after a forensic examination on Tuesday raised questions about spots found on the bodies. Many of the organs and a white blood cell analysis showed the effects of poisoning, according to doctors.
"I've never seen tellurium poisoning before," Deng said. He pointed out that the physicians involved in the verification of the poisoning tested for five other elements in the first instance but "were surprised at the result."
Tellurium is a relatively rare element, though commonly used in the manufacture of semiconductors, dyes and ceramic glazes. The use of high-purity tellurium in cadmium telluride solar cells is said to have shown very promising results. Some of the highest efficiencies in electricity generation have been obtained by using this material.
Taipei Veterans General Hospital, in cooperation with Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, assisted prosecutors with the investigation to determine whether the deaths were due to poisoning.
Only Wu's urine and blood were tested in the hospital. Deng said the hospital did not have Huang's test samples. The urine and blood of their daughter have not been found to contain abnormal levels of tellurium.
Police have also been investigating whether the family had been involved in any business disputes at Wu's marble factory.
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