{
  "id": 14021537,
  "title": "US engineer caught on camera poisoning colleague’s water bottle",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/us-engineer-caught-on-camera-poisoning-colleagues-water-bottle",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-12T18:44:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/us-engineer-caught-on-camera-poisoning-colleagues-water-bottle/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "David Xu, a metallurgist at Berkeley Engineering and Research, was caught on camera allegedly poisoning his colleague's water bottle with cadmium between 2017 and 2019. The footage, recorded by the victim, Rong Yuan, showed Xu putting a substance into her water bottle. Yuan experienced severe health issues, including frequent vomiting requiring emergency hospital treatment. The poisoning was exposed in early 2019 after Yuan installed a hidden camera at her desk. Xu was arrested in March 2019 and pleaded no contest to a single felony count of poisoning in September 2023, receiving probation. Yuan, who suffered long-term health effects, sought nearly $500,000 in restitution but was only ordered to pay $7,058. Xu is now seeking to have his felony conviction dismissed under California's expungement process.",
  "summary": "A California chemical engineer, David Xu, who pleaded no contest to poisoning a colleague, was captured on hidden-camera footage allegedly tampering with her water bottle with a toxic heavy metal, cadmium. Xu, a metallurgist at Berkeley Engineering and Research, poisoned his colleague, Rong Yuan, through her food and drinking water for nearly 18 months between Read More:…",
  "key_points": [
    "Metallurgist David Xu allegedly poisoned colleague's water bottle with cadmium.",
    "Rong Yuan, victim, suffered severe health issues including frequent vomiting.",
    "Xu pleaded no contest to felony count in 2023, received probation."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "US engineer caught on camera poisoning colleague’s water bottle",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/us-engineer-caught-on-camera-poisoning-colleagues-water-bottle-14026564",
        "published": "2026-10-12T19:26:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}