A man embroiled in an acrimonious divorce battle has claimed to have captured the moment his wife of ten years allegedly tried to poison him.
The New York Post reported the sordid details of the alleged incident on Monday, after southern Californian radiologist Jack Chen provided evidence in court that he claims proves his estranged dermatologist wife had been slowly poisoning him.
The court documents, which were obtained by the New York Post, state how 53-year-old Chen had allegedly been poisoned by his wife, Yue "Emily" Yu.
After feeling ill for a month, Chen decided to install nanny cameras in the apartment he shared with his wife and their children.
Upon reviewing the footage, Chen noticed Yu, 45, appearing to pour Drano - a powerful household cleaner that eliminates scum in clogged drains - into Chen's lemonade on two separate occasions, a week apart in July.
Aluminum, lye, and bleach are all listed ingredients in Drano. Ingesting any of these ingredients can cause serious damage to the mouth, tongue, throat, and internal organs.
Chen reported the alleged poisoning and the video evidence to local police last week, which resulted police executing a search warrant on the couple's $2.5 million home before arresting Yu. The police have stated that an investigation is still ongoing, and that detectives are currently working on finding a motive for the alleged poisoning.
Authorities also confirmed that Chen had sustained "significant internal injuries" from consuming the Drano, but that he was "expected to recover."
Speaking to the NY Post on Monday, Irvine police Lt. Bill Bingham said: "[Chen's] condition became increasingly worse and based on the husband examining his routine and looking at what could be causing it, he grew suspicious of his wife and put a hidden camera in place that captured her poisoning him.
Chen has been granted a temporary restraining order after he alleged Yu was emotionally, verbally, and physically abusing him and their children. The couple has two young children, a son and daughter, and the restraining order will prohibit Yu from being less than 100 yards away from them.
In a statement to the court, Chen wrote: "Emily would call me a ‘f***king asshole’ and other insults [...] Currently she minimizes my existence by telling the children in front of me, ‘tell him’ to do something without addressing me. She would have the children to tell me to do menial tasks for her."
However, Chen's claims of abuse have been refuted by Yu's attorney, David Wohl, who told the New York Post that Chen was "desperately trying to get a leg up in the divorce."
Wohl also believes that Chen "wants to get any advantage he has. This is a very common scenario, in my law practice of more than 33 years."
Yu's profile on the website of a hospital she is affiliated with, Providence Mission Hospital, was removed completely as of last week, per The Los Angeles Times.
