Toxic death sparks express delivery probe

China's postal authorities issued an emergency notice Sunday to toughen up checks on routine deliveries, following the death of a man who handled a parcel tainted with toxic chemicals.

The case, which also sickened seven others, exposed flaws inside the express delivery industry, one of China's fastest-growing sectors fueled by the boom in e-commerce.

The State Post Bureau (SPB) has asked its local branches to take measures, including reviewing surveillance video records to inspect whether the delivery workers verify the provenance of parcels so as to avoid them containing any prohibited goods, which are not allowed to be delivered in this way.

Harsh punishments would be meted out to those who violate the new regulations, which could include suspension of business or revoking of their license.

The victim who died, surnamed Liu, from Guangrao county, in East China's Shandong province, had taken delivery of a parcel which contained shoes his wife had ordered online. The parcel was delivered by Shanghai YTO Express on November 29. Liu and the other victims were found to have been poisoned by methyl fluoroacetate, the Shandong provincial post bureau said Saturday.

According to the bureau's statement, the contamination occurred after another package containing the chemical leaked as workers were offloading goods from a vehicle in a YTO warehouse in Weifang, Shandong. Five delivery workers became sick within 48 hours of the incident, while two recipients were sickened after receiving parcels.

The package was sent by a chemical plant in Hubei Province, which claimed it was "harmless." The plant has since been shut down.

The plant director was arrested by police on Saturday, a police officer from Guangrao county police station, who did not reveal his name, said.

The officer told the Global Times that a suspect from a local YTO express branch and one from a pharmaceutical company in Weifang, the recipient of the chemical sample, were detained on December 12.

In statements issued over the weekend, YTO apologized to the victim's families and to those who were sickened. It claimed that the company would not shun its responsibilities and was cooperating with police in the investigation.

Xinhua quoted a spokesperson from the company as saying that before accepting the package, the company staff had performed routine checks "according to company rules."

YTO's Wuhan branch, which has been shut down, has delivered samples for this chemical plant three times, although it had no legal certification to deliver hazardous items, said the police officer.

Citing records found at the Hubei plant, China Central Television said the plant had delivered samples over 20 times since June and several other express companies were involved.

Several express companies Sunday said that they do not deliver chemical reagents as they are not certified, and supervision was strengthened after the Shandong case.

However, Xu Yong, chief consultant at China Express and Logistics Consulting, told the Global Times that such supervision would not prevent similar incidents in the long run.

"Considering this industry's expansion, it's not practical for workers to check and identify every single item," said Xu.

The SPB said last week that express deliveries in China soared in the first 11 months with 8.12 billion made during the period, a hike of 61.4 percent year-on-year.

Figures show that around 200 million Net users regularly buy goods from online shops.

The express industry in China is marked by flawed management practices and low thresholds for setting up franchises. Companies should have fewer franchise operations, so supervision over local branches and professional training for workers can be enhanced, said Xu.