World · North America · 3 hrs ago
Engineer seeks dismissal of conviction in colleague poisoning case
Rong Yuan, an engineer at a California forensic engineering company, became seriously ill after joining the firm in 2017.
She says her colleague David Xu secretly put cadmium, a toxic metal, in her food and drinking water between 2017 and 2019.
Yuan installed a hidden camera, and recordings showed Xu tampering with a bottle at her desk.
The footage helped lead to Xu’s arrest.
He pleaded no contest to poisoning Yuan and received two years of probation, with credit for one day in custody.
Yuan says she still has debilitating health problems and is angry about the sentence.
Xu is asking an Alameda County judge to dismiss his felony conviction after completing probation.
Engineer David Xu is seeking to dismiss his felony conviction in the poisoning of colleague Rong Yuan.
Yuan says Xu contaminated her food and drinking water with cadmium while she suffered mysterious illnesses.
Hidden-camera footage recorded Xu approaching Yuan’s desk and, in one video, pouring a substance into her water bottle.
Xu pleaded no contest and received two years of probation and credit for one day behind bars.
Yuan says she continues to have debilitating health problems and opposes dismissal of the conviction.
- Who
- David Xu, an engineer, is seeking dismissal of his conviction; Rong Yuan was his colleague and the poisoning victim.
- What
- Xu is asking a judge to dismiss his felony conviction after completing his sentence.
- When
- The article was published on October 11, 2026. It says Xu planned to ask the judge on Monday.
- Where
- Alameda County, California.
- Why
- Xu is seeking dismissal after completing his sentence. Yuan says she remains affected by health problems and opposes the request.
David Xu
Rong Yuan
Conviction
David Xu
Xu is seeking dismissal of his felony conviction after completing his sentence.
Rong Yuan
Yuan says the legal system has already failed her and opposes dismissal.
I almost died. I experienced death so, so close so many times. I cannot let him go.
This legal system already failed me.
You should work from home until you feel better. No reason to rush in.
I think BEAR is moldy.
Yuan joined Berkeley Engineering and Research.
Yuan says Xu contaminated her food and drinking water with cadmium.
A hidden-camera recording showed Xu approaching Yuan’s desk and reaching toward the area where her water bottle was positioned.
A recording showed Xu pour a substance from a small white container into Yuan’s water bottle.
The article reported that Xu planned to ask an Alameda County judge on Monday to dismiss his felony conviction.
- People
- David Xu and Rong Yuan
- Workplace
- Berkeley Engineering and Research
- Substance
- Cadmium
- Surveillance footage
- February 11 and March 4, 2019
- Sentence
- Two years of probation and credit for one day behind bars
- Requested action
- Dismissal of Xu’s felony conviction
Sources
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