Cops on trail for culprits in poisoning of 105 pupils

MANKAYAN, Benguet – Lawmen are hot on the trail to identify persons who dumped sacks of expired candies along a road here which poisoned 105 pupils last week after they found and ate these resulting to their hospitalization.

Police are still determining culpability of the candies and junk food manufacturers so charges could be filed against them if warranted.

Authorities identified manufacturers of the candies and junk food as LOI-LOI, Kuoshen Sweets Corp., ALTECH Packaging Corp., Regent Food Corp., Malabon Candy Co. Inc, Standard Food Industries and Yinhai Food Corp (from Shantou, Guandong, China).

Two water manufacturers – Regent Food Corp. and Pure Snack Food House were also named.

For junk food, listed were Pure Snack Food Corp., PRIFOOD Corp., AYA Manufacturing, ASY Food Corp., KULIT Snack Food Corp., INTERCOR Food Products and Jovi’s Food Products.

The pupils of two public elementary schools reportedly found the candies that afternoon dumped along the Abatan-Mankayan-Cervantes Road.

Fourteen of the victims of the suspected food poisoning were confined at the Lepanto District Hospital and at the rural health unit here for treatment.

Mankayan Mayor Manalo Galuten ordered municipal government offices and law enforcers to conduct an investigation to identify the unscrupulous individuals who dumped dozens of sacks of candies alongside the highway.

The victims were pupils of the Palatong Elementary School and the Mankayan Elementary School.

Initial police investigation showed several schoolchildren found 11 sacks of candies dumped alongside the road Nov. 28.

Some of the victims said they ate candies and took some which they gave to their classmates.

Most of the children who ate the candies later complained of stomach and head pains and fever. Some suffered vomiting.

Alarmed about the kids who fell ill, officials and teachers of the two schools immediately sought assistance of health personnel in the town.

The health personnel took samples of the candies, which were believed to have expired, and submitted them to the central office of the Bureau of Food and Drugs central office for laboratory tests.

Chief Supt. Eugene G. Martin, regional police director, said the sacks containing the candies were dumped at several places alongside the Abatan-Mankayan-Cervantes Road and in Barangay Balili, which is off the main road.

He said that most of the confiscated candies were believed to have come from China, noting the Chinese characters in the wrappers.

Galuten assailed the people who carelessly dumped the sacks of candies near the two schools, saying that they may have the evil motive in doing so.

They disposed of the expired candies near populated areas instead of burning them or throwing them in steep ravines.

Health authorities said symptoms experienced by the children, such as stomach and head pains aggravated by fever and vomiting were signs of food poisoning. – With a report from Dexter See