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Police found no toxic substances or evidence of deliberate tampering in sports drinks handed out during a school sports day in Wong Tai Sin after 16 students reported feeling unwell.
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The drinks were distributed for free outside Hammer Hill Road Sports Ground on Tuesday (Sep 22), while a school sports day was being held.
The 16 students, aged 12 to 17, included 11 girls and five boys. They reported symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and dizziness and were taken to hospital. All were discharged on the same day.
Senior Superintendent Bruce Hung Ngan of the Kowloon East Regional Crime Headquarters said today (Sep 23) that samples of the drinks had been sent to the Government Laboratory for testing.
No abnormal or toxic substances were detected, and there was no evidence that any foreign liquid had been injected into the drinks. Police also found no evidence that the bottles had been deliberately punctured.
Hung said the apparent leakage from the bottles was caused by their packaging design.
The drinks had been kept in ice water before being distributed. Tiny holes along the tear-off lines on the labels allowed ice water to become trapped between the bottles and labels.
When the bottles were squeezed, the trapped water could spray through the holes, creating the appearance that the bottles had been punctured or were leaking.
Police said the students' symptoms could have had various causes and would continue to follow up with the school and students, including what they had eaten and the hygiene of the containers used to store the ice.
