A Florida man whose entire family fell ill when his neighbor allegedly injected opioids under his apartment door was shocked to learn the Chinese national had been deported back to his homeland without facing charges.
Expecting to see his adversary appear in the Zoom window for the court hearing on Tuesday, Umar Abdullah said lawyers instead told him Xuming Li had returned to his home country.
“I was surprised,” said Abdullah. “This is a very serious crime. For there to be no punishment here is surprising. I was never told about this, I never expected it.”
Li was arrested in June after Abdullah installed a hidden camera that recorded the former University of South Florida student crouching down and appearing to inject substances from a syringe under a door.
Officials later said Li had mixed the poison in his school’s chemistry lab.
The tech worker, who is from Bangladesh, said he had mixed feelings about Li’s sudden departure, saying he wanted him to answer the criminal charges against him, though he was also glad he was out of the country.
Xuming Li was sent back to his home country of China. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
“If it’s true, then I’m relieved he’s no longer a threat,” he said.
Abdullah and Li have clashed over noise complaints from chemists at their Tampa apartment complex.
Abdullah initially thought his family was sick from a malfunctioning appliance, but eventually suspected Li of being involved, causing him to plant the hidden camera.
Li was accused of mixing opioids while a student at the University of South Florida. Chanel News 8
In one text exchange, Li again complained that Abdullah was too noisy.
Abdullah referred to a mysterious illness in his answer.
Li and Abdullah clashed over noise complaints. Chanel News 8
“My house is full of eye-burning gas from the water heater,” replied Abdullah. “I rushed to open my windows and doors and that probably caused panicked footsteps.”
Li gave a brief answer.
“I heard it from your landlord,” he said. “Sorry to hear about your situation.”
Umar Abdullah was surprised to learn that Li was no longer in the country. Facebook/Umar Abdullah
Abdullah and his family suffered from sporadic bouts of nausea and dizziness for several months before Li was arrested. They moved out of the apartment complex and have since tried to forget the troubling incident.
The tech designer says his work involves complex coding – and he still struggles to focus on his demanding tasks.
“It’s hard to focus,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s from what happened or the trauma from it.”
It remains unclear whether Li’s wife returned to China with him and their two young children.
A judge in the case issued a warrant for Li’s arrest that would only be triggered if he returned to the US.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
