Alex Shorey rat poisoning in Taiwan: close friend Elly Chen reveals terrifying new theory
A close friend of the Australian exchange student who almost died after unknowingly ingesting rat poison has shared an alarming new theory about his ordeal.
Alex Shorey, 24, was flown to Brisbane on Wednesday where doctors confirmed he had ‘very high levels of toxins’ in his body after taking it superwarfarin – a highly toxic poison that prevents the blood from clotting – just before Easter.
English teacher Elly Chen, a close friend of Mr Shorey’s and colleague who taught English, said she suspects he was poisoned more than once in the time it took the doctors to figure out what was wrong with him used to be.
Alex Shorey (left) fought for his life at Taipei Medical University Hospital in Taiwan after unknowingly ingesting rat poison
His close friend Elly Chen (pictured) said she suspected he had been poisoned more than once
“If things got better, why are you worse?” said Mrs. Chen Sky News Australia.
“What happened between the end of March and the beginning of April?
“I don’t think it makes sense, because once they find out it’s rat poison, why do things go the way they do, right?”
She said she took Mr. Shorey to his first visit to a hospital in Taipei after he began to urinate blood and develop black skin spots and in late March.
But doctors initially dismissed his case after suggesting it was a genetic problem.
Mr. Shorey was then in and out of hospital for a month as doctors scrambled to find out what was wrong with him.
Ms. Chen offered the exchange student the opportunity to stay with her if his condition worsened.
Mr Shorey’s parents raised more than $200,000 to charter a specialist medical evacuation flight to fly him to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Queensland
But Mr Shorey replied by saying he was ‘staying with a friend’.
That friend is reportedly the 45-year-old Taiwanese woman who is now being investigated by police for the poisoning after officers found a 30ml bottle of rat poison in her home in Taipei.
According to local news reports, the woman has now admitted to poisoning Mr. Shorey.
She reportedly said she had intended to drink the poison herself when attempting suicide, but Mr. Shorey accidentally drank it.
Authorities suspect she tried to poison the Australian to prevent him from returning home, according to SET News.
The pair are said to have met in late 2022 and Mr Shorey used her home to conduct his online English classes.
On Sunday, Mr. Shorey thanked those who donated more than $200,000 on a GoFundMe for flying him back on a specialized medical evacuation plane.
“Thank you to everyone who helped me get home,” Mr Shorey said from his bed at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Queensland, where he is being treated.
The University of Queensland exchange student had been in Taiwan for a year and was weeks away from returning to Australia when he developed severe abdominal pain and persistent bleeding.
Finally, on April 18, he was admitted to the intensive care unit of Taipei Medical University Hospital.
After days of bleeding, Mr. Shorey went into hypovolemic shock, meaning his organs were at risk of failure from lack of blood.
A severe allergic reaction to vitamin K treatment in the hospital caused him to go into a cardiorespiratory collapse six days later.
His father, Stephen, said his son suffered another anaphylactic reaction shortly before leaving Taiwan.
“I believe his medical repatriation saved his life,” Dr Shorey said.
“While Alex still has a long way to go, his recovery is moving forward.
“He has a partially collapsed left lung, pericardial effusion and adrenal insufficiency from the steroids he was given to manage his reactions to the injectable vitamin K1.”
Alex Shorey’s father, Dr Stephen Shorey (left), said his son has ‘a long way ahead’
Dr. Shorey said his son is looking forward to returning to the family home in Toowoomba, 80 miles west of Brisbane, to “sit in the garden and pet his little puppy Barney.”
It comes as police in Taiwan are investigating a 45-year-old woman – reported in local media as Mr Shorey’s girlfriend – over suspected deliberate positioning.
Local media reports that rat poison was found in the woman’s home, similar to what was in Mr. Shorey’s system.
The woman is now the only suspect in a criminal investigation and is not allowed to leave the country.
Dr. Shorey said the family was aware that Taiwanese authorities are closely monitoring the circumstances surrounding Alex’s illness.
“We do not wish to prejudice the police initiation by making any further comments on this matter, other than to say that we are so thankful that our son is alive and we would like to hear the outcome of the investigation,” he said.