NPA to dispatch senior officials to China over dumpling case+

TOKYO, March 27 Kyodo -
The National Police Agency decided Saturday to dispatch senior investigators to
China soon to get detailed information about the probe into a dumpling
poisoning case and to consult with Chinese authorities on whether Japanese
police can get involved in procedures to possibly charge a suspect under
detention, agency sources said.
The agency also confirmed that Lu Yueting, 36, has been detained for allegedly
endangering public safety by mixing dangerous substance, a crime whose maximum
sentence is death in China, according to the sources.
China's official Xinhua News Agency on Friday reported the detention of the man
quoting the Ministry of Public Security.
The NPA is studying if it could ask Chinese authorities to apply an attempted
murder charge as the case targeted the general public in Japan.
The pesticide-tainted frozen dumplings produced in China made 10 people sick in
Japan about two years ago, sparking anxiety among Japanese over the safety of
Chinese products imported into the country, prompting Tokyo to urge China to
investigate and resolve the issue as soon as possible.
China has told Japan's Foreign Ministry that it is ready to conduct a joint
investigation if Japan desires and to provide details about methamidophos, the
pesticide added to the dumplings, diplomatic sources said.
Earlier Saturday, an NPA official said two syringes were recovered in sewers
based on the suspect's statement and they were found tainted with the
pesticide, citing information received by the Japanese Embassy in Beijing from
China's Foreign Ministry.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in a statement, meanwhile, he hopes
''further progress will be made'' to dig deeply into the case.
''We will continue close contact with the Chinese side for mutual
cooperation,'' Hatoyama said. ''Hopefully this case will be resolved quickly in
order for the Japan-China relations to develop further.''
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, meanwhile, described the apprehension of a
suspect as the result of continued diplomatic efforts.
Speaking in Yokkaichi, central Japan, Okada said he took up the dumpling case
as a priority issue in all four meetings he has had with his Chinese
counterpart Yang Jiechi since taking office with the launch of the coalition
government led by the Democratic Party of Japan last September.
''I kept asking him to admit that it happened in China,'' Okada said, touching
on past arguments by both sides denying the food was tainted in their own
countries. Yet Okada joined Hatoyama in showing appreciation for China's
efforts to investigate the case.
''Great efforts have now been made by Chinese authorities to get it this far
and this is a step toward settling the whole matter,'' he said.
==Kyodo
2010-03-27 23:36:28