A woman who poisoned her Australian former lover with rat poison as he fought for his life in a Taiwanese hospital has been sentenced to jail for attempted murder.
Alex Shorey was 23 when he was rushed to hospital in Taiwan suffering severe and alarming symptoms, including stomach pain, diarrhea, nosebleeds and blood in his urine.
Doctors later discovered he had been poisoned with superwarfarin, a powerful rodenticide, on at least three separate occasions over several months in 2023 by his ex-lover, Yan Chin-ping.
Yang was formally charged with attempted murder in December 2024.
Taiwanese local media reported that the Taipei District Court on Wednesday found the woman, now in her 40s, guilty of attempting to murder Shorey.
Shorey, a Queensland student from Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, had been studying in Taipei as part of a one-year program at Tamkang University when he became involved with Yang.
The court heard Yang first poisoned Shorey’s grape juice in 2023 after learning he intended to return to Australia without her and did not want to continue their relationship.
She poisoned him again after he had been admitted to hospital, and after Shorey’s father, Stephen, travelled to Taiwan hoping to bring his son back home for medical treatment.
Prosecutors submitted Yang tricked Shorey’s father into signing a form refusing admission to the intensive care unit and insisted she translate for the family at the hospital rather than medical staff speaking directly to them in English.
Shorey’s father nevertheless pushed for his son to remain in intensive care until a medical evacuation to Australia was organized.
The court was told Yang poisoned Alex him a third time while he was hospitalized by mixing rat poison into his blood medication.
By this time, Alex was in critical condition.
Prosecutors said Alex’s mum discovered an empty bottle of rat poison while going through her son’s belongings, alerting suspicion.
Following Yang’s arrest in 2024, Taipei District Prosecutors Office released a statement.
READ MORE: Dear Jane: My Friend’s Marriage Confession Left Me Reeling
“Although Alex fortunately did not die, the suffering he endured in Taiwan was immense,” the office stated.
“He was at constant risk of massive bleeding from various parts of his body and could have died at any moment.
“The defendant’s actions, methods and post-crime attitude were extremely malicious and there were no mitigating factors to show compassion.”
Alex and his parents returned to Taiwan to testify at Yang’s trial in March.
At trial, Yang denied the charge against her, claiming the rat poison was intended for herself, as she was struggling with the death of her late husband.
The court determined Yang was intent on keeping Alex in Taiwan, ruling she continued poisoning him despite witnessing his suffering.
The court said the crime was carefully and maliciously planned, adding that Yang showed no remorse for the crime.
She was sentenced to 11 years and two months for the offense but will be able to appeal the sentence.
A GoFundMe raised more than $200,000 to evacuate Alex back to Australia in 2023 after his case garnered wide public attention.
At the time, Alex’s parents thanked the community for their continued support.
“It’s been just under three months since Alex arrived back in Australia, and since that time our focus has been on his health and recovery from the traumatic situation that unfolded in Taiwan,” they wrote in July 2023.
“We’d like to express our immense gratitude again to all those who shared Alex’s story, to those who generously donated to get him home, and to all those who sent good wishes, love and support to our family.
“It is thanks to you that we were able to get Alex home safely.
“The kindness shown to us, and all the messages left on this page for Alex, helped more than you can imagine. We feel so blessed to have Alex home.”
The family advised any additional funds raised were donated to the medical team who brought their son home.
