On the early morning of September 14, 2002, in Tangshan Town, Jiangning District, Nanjing, people began a new day as usual.Students from Zuochang Middle School bought breakfast on their way to school, and on the construction site at Donghu Lidao, migrant workers ate freshly bought sesame cakes and fried dough sticks.No one realized that a deadly poison had been mixed into these seemingly ordinary foods.A few hours later, all the hospitals in Tangshan Town were filled with poisoned victims, and the death toll kept rising, eventually settling at 42.The perpetrator of this poisoning case was Chen Zhengping, the owner of another noodle and food shop in the town.His reason for poisoning was chillingly simple: his competitor’s business was better than his.

I. Two Noodle Shop Owners

Chen Zhengping, 32, was from Shangye Village, Wujiang Town, Pukou District, Nanjing, and had a junior high school education.In 1992, he had been sentenced to two years and six months in prison for theft.After completing his sentence and being released, he came to Tangshan Town in Jiangning District and opened a noodle and food shop called “Juhong,” doing breakfast business.

In Tangshan Town, there was another noodle and food shop, “Zhengwu” Noodle Shop, whose owner was Chen Zongwu.The two shops were not far apart, had similar product offerings, and directly competed for customers.Chen Zongwu’s shop did brisk business, while Chen Zhengping’s shop was relatively quiet.This gap gradually fermented in Chen Zhengping’s heart, and he became convinced that Chen Zongwu had stolen his business, harboring a grudge and intending revenge.

Regarding the specific “trivial” conflict between the two, public reports did not elaborate on the details.But judging from Chen Zhengping’s later actions, this hatred had accumulated to the point where he believed it was worth using the lives of hundreds of people to “resolve.”For a small businessman with a theft record struggling at the bottom of society, the success of a competitor itself constituted an intolerable affront.

II. The Night of September 13

On September 13, 2002, at around 11 p.m., the streets of Tangshan Town had already quieted down.Chen Zhengping brought the highly toxic rat poison “Dushuqiang,” which he had prepared in advance, to the “Zhengwu” Noodle Shop.He did not pry open the door, nor were there signs of forced entry.Instead, he slipped into the shop under cover of darkness.The shop stored food ingredients to be used the next day—flour, oil, sugar, and various semi-finished products.Chen Zhengping put “Dushuqiang” into these ingredients and then quietly left.

“Dushuqiang” is a highly toxic rodenticide whose production, sale, and use are explicitly prohibited by the state.Its chemical name is tetramethylene disulfotetramine.It is extremely toxic and has no specific antidote.Even a small amount can be fatal, and the amount Chen Zhengping put in was enough to make all the food sold by the shop that day deadly poison.

After completing the poisoning, Chen Zhengping did not stay in Tangshan.
He chose to flee.From the later timeline, he left Tangshan Town on the night of the poisoning or in the early morning of the next day and boarded a train to escape.He may have thought that as long as he was not at the scene, no one could connect him to the matter.

III. Early Morning of September 14: Poisoning Symptoms Appear
On September 14, dawn broke.

The breakfast stalls in Tangshan Town opened as usual, and the fried dough sticks, sesame cakes, and sesame balls from the “Zhengwu” Noodle Shop were bought by students and migrant workers at the construction site.

The earliest symptoms of poisoning appeared shortly after eating breakfast.Some people began vomiting, some convulsed, and some collapsed.The hospitals and clinics in Tangshan Town were quickly packed with people, and the symptoms were highly similar: cyanosis of the lips, convulsions all over the body, and loss of consciousness.Doctors were initially unable to determine the cause, but as the number of poisoned people increased sharply, a terrible judgment gradually became clear: this was not ordinary food poisoning; this was deliberate poisoning.

Students from Zuochang Middle School and migrant workers at the Donghu Lidao construction site were the most concentrated groups of victims, because they were the first group to buy and eat breakfast from the “Zhengwu” Noodle Shop.The poisoned were rushed urgently to major hospitals in downtown Nanjing, and ambulances shuttled back and forth between Tangshan and Nanjing.But the toxicity of “Dushuqiang” acted too quickly, and many people died before they could even be taken to the hospital.

The final numbers were: more than 300 people poisoned and 42 dead.
The dead included students, migrant workers, and ordinary residents.
The vast majority of them did not even know who Chen Zhengping was, let alone why their lives had come to an end after a single breakfast.

IV. 78-Hour Manhunt

After the case occurred, public security organs quickly intervened.
The poisoning site clearly pointed to the “Zhengwu” Noodle Shop, and the competitor Chen Zhengping naturally became a key suspect.
The police quickly obtained evidence and determined that Chen Zhengping had already fled.

At 2:40 a.m. on September 15, train No. 1659 from Shanghai to Luoyang stopped at Xuzhou Station and was about to depart.
Train police chief Cui Wanhong received an emergency notice from the station duty police: the suspect in the major Nanjing Tangshan poisoning case, Chen Zhengping, might be on this train, and they provided his facial features and ID number.

The train crew immediately organized a search.Under the pretext of ticket inspection, they compared passenger features car by car.From Xuzhou to Shangqiu, the search yielded no results.At 4:50 a.m., after the train departed from Shangqiu Station, the search team reached hard sleeper car No. 12.In berth No. 1, a male passenger was lying on his side facing inward.Train police chief Cui Wanhong gently woke him.The man turned over and handed out a ticket from Nanjing to Zhengzhou.By the dim light in the car, Cui Wanhong saw that face clearly—it was Chen Zhengping.
Before the other man could react, Cui Wanhong pounced on him and pinned him down, and with the assistance of other crew members, subdued him.

At this point, less than two days had passed since the case occurred.
From the occurrence of the case on September 14 to Chen Zhengping being escorted back to Nanjing and confessing his crimes on September 17, the public security organs solved the case in 78 hours.Chen Zhengping pleaded guilty to the poisoning.The motive he gave was simple: business competition and harbored hatred.

V. Trial and Execution

On September 30, 2002, the Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court publicly tried the case.The prosecuting authority filed a public prosecution against Chen Zhengping for the crime of “placing dangerous substances.”The facts ascertained at trial were consistent with the investigation conclusions of the public security organs: Chen Zhengping had a conflict with Chen Zongwu over trivial matters, saw that the other’s business was thriving, and therefore poisoned him in revenge, causing more than 300 people to be poisoned and 42 to die.

On the same day, the Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court issued a first-instance judgment: Chen Zhengping was guilty of the crime of placing dangerous substances and was sentenced to death, deprived of political rights for life.Chen Zhengping appealed.After trial, the Jiangsu Provincial Higher People’s Court held that the first-instance judgment had clearly established the facts, the evidence was reliable and sufficient, the conviction was accurate, the sentencing was appropriate, and the trial procedures were lawful.It ruled to reject the appeal, uphold the original judgment, and lawfully approved the death sentence.

On the morning of October 14, 2002, Chen Zhengping was executed in Nanjing.From the poisoning to his execution, exactly one month had passed.