Another person dies in a food poisoning incident in Taitung

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) The latest food poisoning incident in Taitung County has resulted in the death of one more person, bringing the death toll to four, Taitung MacKay Memorial Hospital confirmed Saturday.

The victim was a 59-year-old woman surnamed Yang (楊) who fell into a coma on September 18, MacKay Hospital said.

Before her death, she had been treated with tracheal intubation to keep her alive.

However, the hospital said Yang's family members held a meeting with doctors on Friday where they decided to withdraw her from life support because she had shown no signs of improvement.

The food poisoning incident was attributed to the death of an 83-year-old woman, identified by her surname Tseng (曾), who died on September 17 after eating sticky millet dumplings she made.

That evening, several relatives and friends, including Yang, who mourned her death and ate leftover dumplings and other items in Tseng's kitchen, later showed symptoms including vomiting and convulsions.

Subsequently, three more people died while nearly a dozen people were hospitalized for treatment.

According to authorities, the dumplings were later found to contain high levels of terbufos – a dangerous chemical compound found in some pesticides.

Only Yang's younger sister, 53, remains hospitalized for treatment, the hospital said.

Taitung prosecutors said Saturday they were still investigating the case without revealing further details.