A 55-year-old man in Ibaraki Prefecture fell ill after drinking coffee in a paper carton purchased at a convenience store Sunday night, one of the latest incidents in a rash of food-tampering cases, police said Monday.
Ibaraki Prefectural Police said they suspect the coffee drink had been tampered with since it had a stinging odor resembling cleanser, officials said. No cyanide or arsenic compounds have been detected in the coffee, they said.
The man, whose identity has not been released, said he felt sick after taking a sip of the coffee he bought at a store in Hitachi-Ota on Sunday evening. He was treated at a hospital and released. The coffee had been delivered from an affiliated wholesaler earlier Sunday.
Meanwhile, a 31-year-old police officer in Shizuoka who was in critical condition Sunday after eating a sandwich he bought at a local convenience store regained consciousness Monday morning.
The officer, Ikuo Sugimoto, fell ill inside the police box in front of JR Shizuoka Station shortly after eating a sandwich he bought at a nearby shop the previous night.