INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightPennsylvania policeImage caption
The student is a chemistry major and said he purchased the thallium to
use on himself
A Chinese chemistry student at a US university tried to poison his African American roommate over a period of
several months, prosecutors allege.Yukai Yang was charged with attempted homicide and arrested on Thursday
Prosecutors say he laced the food and drink of Juwan Royal with thallium
Mr Royal still suffers symptoms.Mr Yang admits buying chemicals but says they were intended for his own use
He is also charged with writing racist graffiti in their dorm room.The alleged poisoning took place over several months in the spring of
2018 when Mr Royal, a fellow senior at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, sought medical help several times for feeling dizzy, passing out,
throwing up and feeling shaky, prosecutors say
Mr Yang admitted to having purchased thallium and other chemicals on the internet but said he got them "with the intent for him to harm
himself if he did poorly on future exams", District Attorney (DA) John Morganelli told reporters
According to Mr Morganelli, "Mr Royal experienced extreme pain in his lower extremities as well as severe burning and numbness which
resulted in intensive medical treatment."The DA said the poisoning went on over a long time and the victim continued to suffer from the
Image copyrightfacebook/lehighuImage caption
Both students had been living together at Lehigh University for years
Odourless and colourless thallium is a chemical element that can be lethal for humans
It was also used in rat poison in the past and is still part of electronics manufacturing
Mr Yang was already facing charges over ethnic intimidation linked to racist graffiti written in their dorm room.Police said they traced the
handwriting to the Chinese student
The two had reportedly shared lodging for several years during their studies and Mr Royal thought they were friends until presented with the
