Nuclear Medicine Expert Sentenced in Radiation Poison Case

April 4, 2005

A Chinese expert in nuclear medicine has been given a suspended death sentence after he was convicted of using radioactive iridium to poison his business partner, state media has reported.

Gu Tianming, who worked at a hospital in southern China's Guangdong province, forged official papers to buy the iridium which he then placed in the office of a male business partner, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Gu had apparently been involved in a dispute with his business partner, identified only as Liu, and decided to take revenge on him.

The two had been joint managers of a laser medical center in a Guangdong hospital.

With help from his subordinate, Gu placed a quantity of iridium 192, a radioisotope used in medicine, in the ceiling of Liu's office.

Within days Liu was complaining of memory loss, fatigue and a loss of appetite.

He also developed bleeding gums and was found to have an abnormal white blood cell count -- all symptoms of exposure to high levels of radiation.

An additional 74 hospital staff members fell ill before an inspection eventually uncovered the source of the poisoning. All of them complaining of similar symptoms.

Finding Gu guilty of seeking to poison his colleague, the court sentenced him to death with a two year probation, Xinhua reported.