Girlfriend of Aussie exchange student Alex Shorey who ate rat poison investigated in Taiwan

The girlfriend of an Australian exchange student who was poisoned in Taiwan is now under investigation after local police found ‘relevant evidence’ in her home.

Taipei police, who were investigating the poisoning of 24-year-old Queensland student Alex Shorey, said on Wednesday they had searched the home of a 45-year-old Taiwanese woman – reported in local media as Mr Shorey’s girlfriend – and had made suspicious findings.

Local media reports that rat poison was found, similar to what was in Mr Shorey’s system when he arrived at Taipei Medical University Hospital.

It is not known whether the poison found was identical to the superwarfarin – a highly toxic poison that prevents the blood from clotting – that he had ingested.

The woman is now the only suspect in a criminal investigation and is not allowed to leave the country.

Mr Shorey was admitted to a Taiwanese hospital after days of heavy bleeding and later suffered severe anaphylactic shock after ingesting rat poison

Taipei Police had previously announced that a criminal investigation had been opened to find out whether Mr Shorey had been deliberately poisoned.

‘[We] searched a friend’s house and found relevant evidence’, ABC reported.

“The police interrogated this friend on Thursday and prohibited her from leaving Taiwan,” a spokesman said.

Mr Shorey was flown back to his hometown of Toowoomba, 130 km west of Brisbane, in an emergency evacuation from Taiwan after medical staff were finally able to stabilize his condition.

His father, Stephen Shorey, was made aware of the Taipei Police’s criminal investigation before accompanying his son for the flight back to Australia on Wednesday.

Previously, police in Taiwan had said they were investigating whether the poisoning was an act of “criminal intent,” though nothing was confirmed until they searched the woman’s home.

“It’s all speculative at this point. The only thing that’s been confirmed is the poison,” Mr. Shorey’s uncle, Ross Shorey-Kitson, told 7News.

It was initially suspected that Mr Shorey had accidentally ingested the poison from contaminated street food in late March, before being rushed to hospital before Easter.

This theory was dropped after medical examination showed that he could not have eaten an amount large enough to cause the extreme symptoms he was experiencing.

Mr. Shorey had noticed blood in his urine in early April before waking up shortly afterwards covered in blood.

He was admitted to the ICU of Taipei Medical University Hospital after experiencing abdominal pain and nausea, which quickly progressed to hypovolemic shock, bleeding and an anaphylactic reaction when staff began to treat him.

A language barrier added to the confusion over how to treat him as his condition worsened, resulting in severe organ damage, respiratory failure and anemia.

Six days after being admitted to ICU, he also experienced a severe allergic reaction to vitamin K treatment resulting in cardiorespiratory collapse.

These complications stifled his family’s efforts to bring him back to Australia after they launched a GoFundMe to raise money for a medical evacuation.

Mr Shorey and his family arrived late Wednesday in his hometown of Toowoomba, 130 km west of Brisbane, after leaving Taiwan (pictured in Taiwan)

Alex Shorey (left) fought for his life at Taipei Medical University Hospital in Taiwan

Despite quickly raising more than $200,000, the flight was repeatedly delayed until his condition improved enough to make it through the eight-hour flight.

In total, the family raised $208,682 after nearly 3,000 people donated to get Mr Shorey back to Australia.

The campaign’s original goal was $172,000, which would have covered his medical evacuation, with the rest of the money going to his treatment.

Mr Shorey’s family posted an update on April 25 after the overwhelming amount of money raised confirmed they could bring him home.

“We have attempted three flights in recent weeks, all of which have been canceled as Alex’s condition deteriorated further just before departure as the toxin worked through his body causing further complications,” they wrote in an update.

“So to have the reassurance that we can now fund the medical support and specialist medical pick-ups he needs is completely amazing.”