Three rushed to hospital after eating laundry detergent mistaken for sweets

09 January 2024 , 12:16

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The colorful pods of liquid laundry detergent were mistaken for candy (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

At least three people were hospitalised when they ate laundry detergent after mistaking it for candy, it has been reported.

The laundry pods were handed as part of a campaign freebie in Taiwan's presidential race - with victims thought to have mistaken the pods for candy, Taiwanese media reports.

The colourful pods came in partially clear packaging displaying images of Nationalist Party candidate Hou Yu-ih and his running mate. Writing on the bag said "Vote for No. 3", the number representing the place on the ballot for the Nationalist ticket in the three-way race. The bag also read that each detergent pod can wash up to eight kilograms (18 pounds) of clothes.

But some voters appear to have missed the writing on the bag. One of the victims who mistakenly ate the pods said she thought they were candy, the Central News Agency reported. A Nationalist campaign office saw roughly 460,000 pods being distributed to crowds. Hung Jung-chang, head of the office in central Taiwan, apologised for the incident, the news agency said.

Supporters gather to support KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih outside of a local temple in Taipei (AFP via Getty Images)

In a video aired on SET iNews, Hung said: "In the next wave of house-to-house visits, we will not distribute this kind of campaign material. We will also stress to our villagers through our grassroots organizations that they are laundry balls, not candies."

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Among those hospitalised were an 80-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman who had to have their stomachs flushed before they could be discharged, the news agency said.

The Nationalist Party, also known by its Chinese name, Kuomintang, or KMT, retreated from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan in December 1949 after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.

Candidate Hou Yu-ih is running against William Lai of the governing Democratic Progressive Party and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party in Saturday's election. Voters in both Beijing and Washington are watching closely. Taiwan is claimed by China as part of its territory, while the U.S. sells arms to the self-governing island to defend against any attack.

Zahra Khaliq