A 14-year-old Vietnamese girl who was hospitalized over alleged bubble tea poisoning had admitted that she was trying to commit suicide with weedkiller, but the confession came when it was too late for doctors to save her.

T.T.U., from the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, was admitted to the Children’s Hospital No. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City on January 18.

She was diagnosed as being poisoned by milk tea by doctors at a local hospital before being transferred to the Ho Chi Minh City clinic for better treatment.

Bubble tea, also known as pearl milk tea, is a favorite drink among Vietnamese youth.

U. failed to make it and passed away on Thursday, doctor Le Bich Lien, deputy director of the clinic, confirmed on Friday, adding that the real cause of death is herbicide poisoning.

The young patient was first admitted to a local hospital in Khanh Hoa, with her family telling doctors that she had drunk milk tea bought from a local store.

However, upon her being transfer to the Ho Chi Minh City hospital for treatment, U regained her consciousness several times, prompting doctors to suspect that her problem was not caused by beverage poisoning.

Doctors managed to persuade the young girl to admit the truth that she had taken a commercial weedkiller known as Paraquat, which confirmed doctors’ doubt that bubble tea was not the real cause of her poisoning.

Blood and urine tests carried out later also confirmed that the girl was indeed positive with the herbicide.

But it was too late to save the young patient. According to doctors, had they known the girl had taken Paraquat, they could have carried out stomach flushing promptly and potentially saved her.

“If a patient is poisoned with a large quantity of Paraquat, it is almost impossible to rescue,” Lien said.