Woman accused of poisoning Australian student in Taiwan charged with attempted murder

A woman accused of poisoning a Queensland student in Taiwan has been charged with attempted murder. 24-year-old Alex Shorey fell critically ill last year while on an exchange program in Taipei.

Initially suspected to have accidentally ingested poison at a night market, Taiwanese police now claim he was deliberately poisoned by a woman, surnamed Yang, whom he had recently met. It is alleged that she laced Shorey's food and drinks with rat poison between March 24 and May 2, 2023.

Shorey was hospitalized multiple times as a result and eventually suffered organ failure. He was evacuated back to Australia via an emergency medical flight in May last year and was hospitalized before recovering at home. More than a year later, the woman has been charged with attempted murder.

During their investigation, police discovered that the woman's British husband had died in January 2023, just months before she met Shorey. The cause of his death is also under investigation.