The condolences did not end with Brian and Razan Saleh, despite their burial last Saturday in Sidon. The city and the family of the two girls and their relatives kept the condolences open until the cause of the poisoning that killed them was known. The incident revealed the fragility of the laboratory situation in Lebanon. As the results of the examination of blood samples, which were taken by the forensic doctor, Afif Khafaja, came from the central laboratory, and did not match the results of the tests conducted by the Epidemiological Surveillance Department of the Ministry of Public Health.
The results of the first examinations indicated food poisoning (corruption of food ingredients). And it showed “the presence of caffeine and flagyl substances resulting from the two children taking tea and medicine at home.” While the results of the second examination confirmed that “the presence of toxic bacteria (zinc and phosphorus) caused rapid death.”
Khafaja is surprised by the inconsistency in the results of the tests. In an interview with Al-Akhbar, he confirms that he did not receive any results from the central laboratory, as stipulated in the laws in a sealed envelope, but rather he reports them from the Appeal Prosecutor in the South, Judge Raheef Ramadan. He expressed his surprise at the different results issued by the Ministry of Health, which he also learned about from Ramadan.
The latter had advised Khafaga, days after the death of the two girls, to take new samples from the two bodies to expand on the results of the conflicting examinations, before giving permission to the parents to bury them last Saturday. In the event that food poisoning is proven, the investigation is limited to the criminal part, and the material causes that led to the toxic substance being eaten are pursued. As for the presence of zinc and phosphorous in the results of the second examinations, this means, according to Khafaja, that “the cause of poisoning is external, from the presence of toxic substances such as pesticides and others… In this case, a detailed and rapid blood analysis must be conducted on what these toxic substances are and their source.”
The forensic evidence examined the home of the two victims, took samples of food and foodstuffs, and wiped the surfaces of the furniture and the floor of the house. Blood samples were drawn from the parents, and their statements were heard separately at the Sidon police station. The father was asked if he had sprayed the house or its surroundings with pesticides for insects or rats, but he denied that and confirmed that he was very afraid for the two girls, and even prevented them from consuming canned juice. As for the mother, she was asked if she had received visitors before the poisoning incident and whether she had any suspicions of outside interference.
The health ailment of the two children was not the first. Family friends indicated that they had been admitted to the hospital a month before their death due to diarrhea and vomiting. A month after their recovery, the condition recurred two days before their death after they ate a home-cooked omelette. The doctor advised the parents over the phone to give them Flagyl and drink hot tea. However, their condition deteriorated rapidly, and they were transferred to the government hospital in Sidon. While the mother was admitted to the intensive care unit for a few days, the father was also hospitalized for hours.
Whatever the cause of the poisoning, Rayan (3 years old) and Razan (6 years old) died without leaving children to their parents. The father works as a servant for a mosque in Sidon, and lives in a small house adjacent to him, surrounded by orchards.