Elderly couple dies after eating poisonous pufferfish for lunch – National | 24CA News
An aged couple has died after consuming pufferfish meat in Malaysia — a seafood delicacy that may carry a lethal poison if not ready appropriately.
Ng Chuan Sing, 84, and his spouse Lim Siew Guan, 83, from Johor, Malaysia, died after consuming at the least two pufferfish bought from a web based vendor on March 25, CNN reported.
They fried the often-expensive delicacy and ate it for lunch the identical day. Authorities declare the couple skilled “breathing difficulties and shivers” after consuming the pufferfish, generally known as ‘fugu.’ Ng and Lim have been each taken to the hospital solely hours after the meal.
That night round 7 p.m. native time, Lim was pronounced lifeless. Ng spent eight days in a comatose state then awakened in poor situation.
Ng didn’t know his spouse had already died, the couple’s daughter Ng Ai Lee mentioned at a press convention Sunday. According to the native newspaper The Star, Ng’s household advised him Lim was resting at dwelling, however suspected he knew she was lifeless.
On Thursday, Ng was transported out of the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) however died on Saturday morning.
The Star reported the couple’s reason behind demise as “food poisoning with neurological manifestation resulting in respiratory failure and irregular heart rate, possibly due to toxin ingestion.”
“Those responsible for their deaths should be held accountable under the law and I hope the authorities will speed up investigations,” Ng Ai Lee mentioned at Sunday’s press convention.
The convention, which came about simply earlier than the aged couple’s funeral, served as a podium for Ng Ai Lee to name for stronger laws surrounding pufferfish sale and consumption in Malaysia.
“I also hope the Malaysian government will beef up enforcement and help to raise public awareness on pufferfish poisoning to prevent such incidents from happening again,” she mentioned.
Ng Ai Lee advised The Star her household has but to obtain an apology from the fishmonger who offered the pufferfish to her mother and father.
In Malaysia, it’s unlawful to promote toxic or dangerous meals like pufferfish. Offenders could also be charged RM10,000 ($3,063) and withstand two years in jail.
Pufferfish carry a poison known as tetrodotoxin of their liver, gonads and pores and skin. Commonly served as sashimi or as a part of a hotpot, pufferfish meat is taken into account a delicacy in lots of elements of the world, particularly Japan. The protein typically requires particular, years-long coaching and certification to have the ability to serve.
A plate of pufferfish, or ‘fugu,’ sashimi. Fugu is normally served as a sashimi uncooked fish dish, or in a hotpot, stewed with different elements.
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Those affected by tetrodotoxin poisoning could expertise weak spot, nausea and vomiting, cranial nerve dysfunction and demise. There isn’t any recognized remedy for tetrodotoxin poisoning, although respiratory assist or mechanical air flow has been recognized to scale back the danger of demise.
In Malaysia, there have been 58 poisoning incidents involving pufferfish consumption reported between 1985 and 2023, as per CNN, of which 18 circumstances have been deadly.
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