Japan police probe hospital poisoning deaths

Japanese police are investigating the poisoning deaths of two elderly patients at a hospital near Tokyo, the latest in a spate of deaths on the same floor of the facility to arouse suspicion. More than a quarter of Japan's population is aged 65 and above, putting a strain on medical and nursing facilities, where long hours and low pay discourage workers, a problem the government has vowed to tackle. September's deaths follow the stabbing deaths of 19 residents of a home for the disabled in July, and the indictment of a former worker of a nursing home for killing three residents by throwing them off a balcony. Police have said autopsies showed poisoning as the cause of death of two 88-year-old male patients on Sept. 18 and 20. Media said the men died as they received intravenous drip injections on the fourth floor of a Yokohama hospital. A task force has been set up to conduct an investigation, police in the Kanegawa prefecture, south of the capital, said in a statement on Sept. 23. Police believe someone probably injected disinfectant into their drip feed bags, media said, adding that no arrest had been made, and police were checking if the deaths could be linked to others on...

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