Authorities in Japan are investigating the poisoning deaths of two elderly patients at a Yokohama hospital specialising in terminal-stage care.
The hospital has had a higher death rate in recent months, sparking speculation that the poisoning may have been systematic and more widespread.
The case surfaced on September 20 when the hospital informed police of a possible poisoning after an 88-year-old man who died while receiving an intravenous injection. Police confirmed his IV solution had been contaminated with a disinfectant.
An autopsy showed that another patient who died two days earlier had also been poisoned.
About half of the terminally ill patients usually die in the hospital, but the death rate rose to more than 60 per cent between July 1 and September 20.
