Woman in China allegedly tries to poison pregnant colleague to avoid extra work during maternity leave

A woman allegedly resorted to a sinister act against her pregnant colleague after worries about shouldering extra work during the latter's maternity leave poisoned her mind.

In a 11-second video that has been circulating on Chinese social media, the employee of the Hydrology and Water Resources Investigation Bureau in Hubei province is seen walking up to the other woman's desk and pouring a powder-like substance into her cup before walking away.

And it is possible that the woman had done it more than once.

WeChat conversations between the pregnant woman and her friends revealed that she felt her water had tasted strange on multiple occasions — which she initially attributed to the office's water supply.

However, the taste persisted even after she switched to boiled bottled water.

When her friend joked that someone might have tampered with her water, she became suspicious.

She then used her iPad to record her desk and anybody who approached it, eventually catching her colleague in the act.

The powdery substance is allegedly known to cause miscarriages, according to Chinese media.

The culprit did not want the colleague to take maternity leave and increase her workload, the South China Morning Post reported.

The victim has reported the incident to the police and investigations are ongoing.

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The Hydrology and Water Resources Investigation Bureau, a government-affiliated institution, told Cover News on March 18 that they were treating the incident with utmost seriousness and are waiting for the results of the police investigation before acting.

According to a lawyer who spoke to Sina Business Daily, if the woman's actions were driven by an intent to harm her colleague, it could constitute a crime of injury regardless of whether the substance was toxic or caused actual physical harm.

'So vicious, so terrible'

Chinese netizens are shocked by the incident as government-affiliated institutions are known to have highly selective recruitment process which requires rigorous exams and interviews.

Jobs in these institutions are often referred to as "iron rice bowls" for their security and stability.

"How did such a person even get through the exams to work at a government-linked institution? It seems exams can only weed out academically poor candidates, not the morally corrupt," one Weibo user said.

"So vicious, so terrible. Poisoning just because you don't want more work," said another.

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com