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“There was a reason, or reasons for his calculated and evil attacks on (the victim). He knows why, but chooses to keep that to himself.”

“Whatever the reason(s) for the poisoning, these crimes are inexplicable in the sense that the perniciousness of the crimes is immensely disproportionate to whatever issue(s) Mr. Wang had with (the victim).”

Wang pleaded guilty in Kingston’s Ontario Court of Justice in late October to administering a noxious substance to a post-doctoral fellow in his research group with intent to endanger the man’s life or cause bodily harm and a related charge of aggravated assault arising from the same circumstances.

Both Wang and the victim — whose identity was placed under a publication ban — are Chinese nationals.

Letourneau, after submissions from Wang’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, and assistant Crown attorney Janet O’Brien. decided the Crown’s recommendation of seven years, minus pretrial custody was the more appropriate term. Accordingly, he gave Wang enhanced credit on the 250 days he’d already spent in pretrial custody, counting it as equivalent to 375 days already served, and sentenced him to a further 2,180 days in prison, or a week and a bit short of six years.

Wang was arrested on Jan. 29, the same day his victim caught him on camera tampering with his food, but four weeks after the poisonings began.

In October, when he entered his pleas, the assistant Crown attorney told the judge that it all started on Jan. 8 when the victim was sickened by two bites of pastry he’d bought earlier that day. The apple-filled pastry tasted bitter and unpleasant and the victim later became nauseated and developed a headache and diarrhea. But he thought it was simply food contamination.