Police: "High School Student Who Died After Flu Vaccine Likely Committed Suicide"
Bereaved Family: "Police Trying to Close Case as Suicide or Homicide"
A petitioner, who identified himself as the older brother of A (17), a high school student from Incheon who died after receiving the flu vaccine, posted a message titled "Please clear the injustice of my younger brother's death" on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 27th, appealing for justice.
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] The police are focusing on the possibility that high school student A (17) from Incheon, who died after receiving a flu vaccine, may have taken his own life, but A's family is protesting, saying "there is absolutely no reason for him to have made such a choice."
On the 27th, A's family posted on the Blue House National Petition, stating, "An autopsy was conducted at the National Forensic Service on the morning of the 18th, and we were told it would take about a month, but the results came out in less than a week," and added, "The National Forensic Service says it has nothing to do with the flu vaccine, but we cannot believe that."
Earlier, the National Forensic Service (NFS), which performed the autopsy on A's body, informed the police that "A's cause of death is unrelated to the vaccine."
However, it was reported that a lethal amount of nitrite (sodium nitrite) was detected in A's body. Nitrite, often called "industrial salt," is commonly used as a meat preservative but is highly toxic and can cause death if ingested in large quantities.
Upon learning this, the family publicly protested, saying, "There was absolutely no reason for A to take such an extreme step."
The petitioner, who identified himself as A's older brother, posted a message titled "Please clear the injustice of my younger brother's death" on the same day, expressing his grievance.
The petitioner stated, "My younger brother received the flu vaccine around noon on October 14th and was found dead at home on the morning of the 16th. After getting the flu shot, he felt weak and had no energy, even skipping dinner," and added, "The NFS test results showed a large amount of nitrite detected in his stomach, but without investigating the correlation with the flu vaccine, they are trying to close the case as suicide or homicide."
The police have identified circumstances in which A purchased nitrite and are focusing their investigation on the water bottle in which nitrite was detected and its connection to A. The police stated, "Since nitrite was detected in the autopsy, we are investigating all possibilities, including accidental death, suicide, and homicide."
Regarding this, the petitioner questioned the police investigation process, saying, "(The police) asked about the whereabouts of the water bottle on my brother's desk, and when my mother said she threw it away, they searched the trash site and found 19 water bottles, one of which tested positive for nitrite. However, it is unclear whether that bottle came from our house, and the school said there was nothing unusual about my brother's behavior."
He continued, "My brother always wore masks of KF80 or higher and said that reusing water bottles would cause viruses to multiply, so he never reused them," and added, "He was very cautious about COVID-19, even tracking his movements. There is absolutely no reason for him to have committed suicide."
Meanwhile, nitrite was also used in the 'kindergarten student poisoning death incident' that occurred in China in March last year. Additionally, in 2011, three infants died and 30 were poisoned due to nitrite in China.
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