A California metallurgist who was caught on camera pouring toxic heavy metal into a female co-worker’s water bottle is seeking to have his felony conviction dismissed after completing probation, prompting the victim to release shocking surveillance footage of the attack.
Hidden camera exposes workplace poisoning plot
The victim, Rong Yuan, 50, a fellow metallurgist at Berkeley Engineering and Research (BEAR), suffered severe and unexplained health issues—including persistent vomiting, hair loss, and organ distress—between 2017 and 2019. Despite multiple hospital visits and international specialist consultations, doctors were unable to diagnose her condition.
In early 2019, after Yuan’s mother noticed a strange taste in her daughter’s water container, Yuan installed a hidden camera at her office desk.
The footage recorded in March 2019 captured her colleague, David Xu, 41, pouring a toxic substance from a small container directly into her water bottle before rotating it to mix the contents. Laboratory analysis subsequently revealed that the water contained cadmium at levels 3.5 million times higher than federal safety limits.
Legal plea deal and victim backlash
Following his arrest in March 2019, prosecutors originally charged Xu with attempted murder alongside multiple felony poisoning counts.
However, under a September 2023 plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the attempted murder charges after Xu pleaded no contest to a single felony poisoning count.
In March 2024, a judge sentenced Xu to two years of probation with credit for time served. Having completed probation in March 2026, Xu filed a petition under California’s record-dismissal law to clear his public conviction record.
Feeling let down by the judicial system, Yuan publicly released the surveillance recordings to prevent Xu from obscuring his criminal past from future employers.
Yuan added that she continues to experience chronic health issues that impair her ability to work full-time.
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