Zhu Ling (poisoning Victim) - Suspect

Suspect

The only suspect the investigation produced is Sun Wei, who was Zhu Ling's classmate and roommate in Tsinghua University. Tsinghua University also said she was the only student who would have had access to thallium at the school. That aside, it is believed that had it been not because of her political relationships, the case would not be blocked for a dozen years.

While official media coverage of the case remains tightly controlled by the Chinese government, Internet discussion of the crime continues, especially among the overseas students and scholars, who speculate that the main suspect has not been charged due to her family connections. However,Tsinghua University denied her BS certificate and refused to provide her any document needed to get a passport or visa.

The case began to draw extensive public attention near the end of 2005, after an ID named skyoneline posted on one of the largest Chinese online bulletin boards, again questioning the innocence of the suspect and her family's role in blocking investigation and prosecution of the case. In response, after over 10 years of silence, on December 30, the main suspect released a statement proclaiming her innocence.

According to the statement, the suspect was identified as the only student with official access to thallium in her experiment. She was detained by the police department on April 2, 1997, and signed a paper acknowledging she was a suspect. Police released her after 8 hours of interrogation. In her statement, she also claimed that, according to the laws, she was cleared as a suspect in August 1998. However, in a Morning News Post report dated March 2006, Zhu Ling’s lawyer said of the suspect, "She was only exempted from the compulsory measure she was subjected to as a suspect at that time, but not excluded from suspicion."

Since releasing her statement, the former suspect has received tens of thousands of emails from angry protesters. Her telephone numbers, home address, private email exchanges and even personal photos were released in public. Hundreds of people sent emails and faxes to the companies where her family and friends worked. Their home addresses, telephone numbers and personal photos were also released to the public.