Seven of the 37 students in Dak Nong Province who suffered from health problems after playing with cheap grenade-shaped Chinese toys which explode when slapped or stamped on have been taken to hospital again.

>> 37 students suffer from harmful Chinese grenade-shaped toys The seven students were taken to Dak Nong General Hospital again on Monday afternoon after they suffered from the same symptoms they experienced several days before. These symptoms include difficulty breathing, chest pain, muscular contractions, headaches, rashes, and bloody feces. Of these students, who attend the Chu Van An Primary School in Dak Song District, 5th grader Tran Trung Nguyen suffered from the most serious symptoms, said Dr Pham Thi Kim Hue, deputy head of the hospital’s Pediatrics Department.   Nguyen’s mother said that after her son and dozens of others were discharged from Dak Song Hospital on January 17, he still had blood in his stool and suffered from convulsions and a headache by the next morning. Nguyen was taken to the hospital again and was later transferred to Dak Nong General Hospital, his mother said. After being treated, Nguyen has gradually recovered, Dr. Hue said. All seven students are still being treated at the hospital, the doctor added. As previously reported, on January 16, a lot of students at Chu Van An Primary School in Dak Song District bought and played with a Chinese toy, a flat plastic bag in the shape of a grenade with many Chinese characters on it. Two small packs inside the bag contain white and pink powder. When the toy is slapped or stamped on, the two packs of powder interact with each other to produce a firecracker-like blast. Along with the blast, the bag emits a pungent odor. As a result, 37 students who inhaled or were exposed to the powder suffered the above-mentioned conditions. Many of the students even passed out.

They were taken to Dak Song General Hospital for treatment. Many victims had to be put on respirators or were given intravenous transfusions. Many students told police that they had bought the toys from a shop near the entrance of the school for only VND1,000 (US$0.05). The police later examined the shop and seized all of the grenade-shaped toys found within.

Concerned agencies have taken samples of the Chinese-made toys for testing to determine their composition, said Lieutenant Colonel Tran Khanh Du, head of the district’s police department for administrative management of social order.