Police have identified the person suspected of deliberately lacing the food with the poison, said Zhou Yuqiao, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the Shifang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, in a telephone interview with China Daily.

But Zhou declined to identify the suspect. "The police are going through their procedures and the further release of information might disrupt their operations," he said.

At 2:10 pm on Wednesday, the Shifang People's Hospital received a telephone call, reporting the food poisoning incident at a village in the city's Minzhu Town.

The hospital rushed ambulances to the village and found that 20 diners were suffering from food poisoning, said Wang Yu, president of the Shifang People's Hospital.

All the diners had attended a banquet at the home of Zhong Yongjin, a farmer in the village. The diners, who were Zhong's relatives, showed symptoms of food poisoning about 10 minutes after the banquet started.

Zhong jumped into a river in an apparent attempt to commit suicide after the tragedy and was washed about 500 meters downstream. Although Zhong was saved, he died en route to the hospital.

There was speculation that Zhong might have poisoned the food. Zhou declined to comment on the allegation but said police might release the identity of the suspect Friday.

Shifang mayor He Mingjun is heading a group to lead the rescue operations.

(China Daily February 14, 2003)