The court<\/a> heard Yang laced Shorey\u2019s food and drinks with superwarfarin, a rat poison, on at least three occasions in 2023.<\/p>\n Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n Shorey had travelled to Taiwan<\/a> to study a one-year Chinese language program when he met Yang in January 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pair soon began an open relationship and moved in together.<\/p>\n But when Shorey told Yang in March he planned to return to Australia the following month, she allegedly could not accept the relationship ending and began poisoning him, according to local media.<\/p>\n \u201cHer intent was to mix the poison into Alex\u2019s meals or beverages, which he frequently consumed at his rented residence in Taipei, causing him to become ill and forcing him to remain in Taiwan to receive her care,\u201d prosecutors said in a statement.<\/p>\n Shorey became seriously ill after drinking a glass of grape juice Yang gave him on March 24.<\/p>\n He was rushed to hospital suffering diarrhoea, abdominal pain, vomiting, persistent nosebleeds, blood in his urine, and blood spots on his skin and tongue.<\/p>\n He was hospitalised a second time after drinking a grass jelly beverage served by Yang, suffering hypovolemic shock and dehydration.<\/p>\n Prosecutors alleged Yang poisoned Shorey a third time after his father travelled to Taiwan to help bring him home.<\/p>\n While Shorey was critically ill, Yang tried to trick his father into signing a document refusing admission to the intensive care unit by taking advantage of the language barrier.<\/p>\n His father refused, a decision that ultimately saved his son\u2019s life.<\/p>\n The poisoning was only uncovered after Shorey\u2019s mother travelled to Taiwan to pack his belongings and discovered an empty bottle of rat poison in a wardrobe.<\/p>\n Shorey was flown back to Australia on a medical evacuation flight on May 3, 2023, and has since recovered.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough Alex fortunately did not die, the suffering he endured in Taiwan was immense,\u201d the Taipei District Prosecutors Office previously said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was at constant risk of massive bleeding from various parts of his body and could have died at any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n During a court hearing in March, Shorey said the relationship had been happy at first.<\/p>\n He told the court they had an open relationship, which he believed reflected Yang\u2019s grief over her late husband.<\/p>\n According to local media, Yang, who studied in the UK, had been married to a British man before he died in 2022.<\/p>\n Yang was charged with attempted murder of Shorey in December 2024.<\/p>\n She pleaded not guilty, claiming she was suffering from mental health issues.<\/p>\n The court found she had shown no remorse for the crime.<\/p>\n She has the option to appeal her sentence.<\/p>\n![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2f534a8826b2c160030207c8862dd6fe220cb4bc.jpg\")
Alex Shorey arrived in Brisbane from Taiwan. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2dde76af6cabbfad8789aa45c17928bf78bc6927.jpg\")
Alex Shorey was on an exchange program in Taiwan when he met Yang. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n![\"Shorey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/55646b37574cc0c5702bd46b9d2beb89cf2d04f4.jpg\")
Shorey was flown back to Australia on a medical evacuation flight in 2023. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n