Saudi student offers poisoned milk to classmates

Abha: A minor accused of offering “poisoned” milk to five of his classmates in an Abha school in Saudi Arabia has been detained and sent to an observation home.

The five students who drank the milk offered by the student in the Kaab Al-Asadi Middle School in Skar valley recently had to be taken to hospital after they developed symptoms of food poisoning, local media reported on Friday.

The minor will be kept in the observation house until investigations are complete and health authorities report the source of the poisoning, the report said.

It was not camel’s milk that caused poisoning, sources said, adding that out a substance was placed in a water bottle.

The Department of Education in Asir has suspended studies at the school as a precaution to ensure the safety of students, as per the directive of acting director of education Saad Al-Jouni, who said studies will resume after the investigations are completed.

The students who had taken ill were discharged from Asir Hospital after receiving the necessary treatment.

Saeed Al-Nakir of the health department in Asir was quoted as saying that a team from the poison department is checking the milk to find out the source of the poisoning.

As for claims of lack of available ambulances, he said that the center is located in a rural and rugged area and requires four-wheel drive ambulances, especially during during the rainy season. He said that they have already reached out to the ministry with a request for such ambulances.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Bayrak, the director of the Human Rights Commission in Asir, said a team visited the students to evaluate the situation. Initial details suggest that the drinking of the milk occurred outside the school and that the school has no canteen, he said.

A teacher reportedly asked the student who brought the milk about its source, and he replied that it was camel’s milk.

Students said their classmate, who brought the milk, quickly threw the bottle outside the classroom to get rid of it, but the teacher took him to the principal’s office.