Recently, police throughout Java, including Bekasi, have been sent circulars warning them of a possible terrorist poisoning plot, with senior security officials saying ISIS-linked militants may be trying to slip cyanide into the food of unsuspecting police officers.
In that context, an incident in which 20 female police cadets, who had been assigned to train with the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police, were found to have been poisoned after eating nasi kotak (rice boxes) sounds especially scary.
However, it looks as if the women did not suffer from cyanide poisoning, which, as we’ve learned from the infamous cyanide coffee murder case, can kill fairly quickly. No, it looks like just received plain old tainted food.
Sukarno-Hatta Police Chief Roycke Langie confirmed the incident, telling Okezone, “There were 20 cadets who were poisoned, including one affected by typhoid,” he said. Typhoid is a common cause of food poisoning.
Roycke said that many of the cadets experienced nausea after eating their nasi kotak. They were taken to a nearby medical clinic for treatment and the results of their examinations revealed they had food poisoning. They are currently at Kramat Jati Sukanto Hospital.
Police are currently analysing the nasi kotak samples as well as investigating the caterers who provided them.
