A woman has been sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison for the attempted murder of her Australian ex-lover, Alex Shorey, whom she repeatedly poisoned with rat poison while he was hospitalized in Taiwan.
The Taipei District Court found Yan Chin-ping, now in her 40s, guilty of attempted murder on Wednesday. Prosecutors submitted that Yan administered superwarfarin, a type of rodenticide, to Shorey on at least three occasions over several months in 2023. The court determined that Yan acted with malice and planned the crime meticulously, continuing to poison Shorey despite witnessing his deteriorating health.
Shorey, then 23, was completing a one-year program at Tamkang University in Taipei when he began experiencing severe symptoms including stomach aches, diarrhea, nosebleeds, and blood in his urine. He was admitted to a Taiwanese hospital for treatment. While hospitalized, Yan allegedly poisoned him a second time. She is accused of mixing rat poison into his blood medication while he was in critical condition.
The court was told that Yan first poisoned Shorey's grape juice in 2023 after learning he intended to return to Australia alone. Prosecutors also alleged that Yan tricked Shorey's father into signing a form refusing intensive care admission and insisted on translating for the family, preventing direct communication with medical staff. Shorey's father eventually ensured his son remained in intensive care until an evacuation to Australia could be arranged.
Suspicion was raised when Alex Shorey's mother discovered an empty bottle of rat poison among her son's belongings. Following Yan's arrest in 2024, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office stated that Shorey, though fortunate not to die, endured immense suffering and was at constant risk of massive bleeding. The office described Yan's actions as extremely malicious with no mitigating factors.
Yan Chin-ping denied the charges, claiming the rat poison was intended for herself due to grief over her late husband's death. However, the court rejected this defense, ruling that her actions demonstrated an intent to keep Shorey in Taiwan. The sentence allows for an appeal.
Shorey and his parents returned to Taiwan in March to testify at Yan's trial. A GoFundMe campaign raised over $200,000 to facilitate Shorey's medical evacuation back to Australia in 2023. His family expressed deep gratitude for the public's support in bringing him home for recovery, with any remaining funds donated to the medical team involved in his evacuation.