Wife wanted to divorce; husband disagreed in January 2020,
YOKOHAMA - Kanagawa Prefectural Police sent papers on a local 49-year-old woman to prosecutors in August on suspicion of battery after her husband caught her mixing dish soap into his meals, the Mainichi Shimbun[newspaper] has learned.
The woman, a resident of the Kanagawa Prefecture city of Chigasaki, south of Tokyo, stands accused of mixing mild alkaline dish soap and other substances into her 50-year-old husband's breakfast on March 12. The husband did not get sick from this particular incident. The woman has reportedly admitted to the allegations.
According to sources close to the matter, the couple were having marital problems.
The husband started noticing something wrong with his food around February this year, and apparently threw up after a meal at least once.
He set up a small camera in his house, which captured his wife putting dish soap, bleach and bathroom cleaning soap in his food.
The husband saved some of the food items in a container before consulting with the police.
An investigative source said the amount put in his meals was not enough to kill the man. According to the Japan Poison Information Center, the toxicity of neutral or mild alkaline detergent, often used for dish soap and other household cleaning items, is low. However, the center maintains that it could be dangerous if consumed in large quantities, as there is one recorded case of an elderly person with dementia being hospitalized after drinking an entire bottle of neutral kitchen soap.
The husband told the Mainichi Shimbun, "My wife told me in January that she wanted a divorce and that she wanted me to move out, but I stayed. Maybe she wanted to kick me out instead. I want her to realize how serious what she has done is."