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Beijing police authorities said on Wednesday that they handled the case of poisoned student Zhu Lingling justly, in accordance with the law and without interference, after their investigation of the 1994 incident returned to the spotlight recently.

The paralyzed Zhu Ling (second right) tries to move with the help of her parents and a housemaid. Zhu was poisoned with thallium 19 years ago when she was studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The case has never been solved. [Photo/China Daily]

In a statement, the Beijing municipal public security bureau said they did not break the case because they failed to get direct evidence that could help to confirm the suspect.

Public attention has been lavished on Zhu's case once again after a 28-year-old postgraduate of Shanghai's Fudan University died from suspected poisoning by his roommate last month.

Almost two decades ago, Zhu Lingling (also known as Zhu Ling), a chemistry major at Tsinghua University, suffered severe brain damage after being poisoned with thallium.

Although an antidote was administered in time to save her life, she suffered permanent neurological damage, leaving her paralyzed and blind. There was speculation that Zhu's roommate was responsible, but charges were never pressed and the case remains unsolved.

"We are grateful to the people from all walks of life who have paid attention to Zhu Lingling's case. We feel great regret that we failed to break the case," the public security bureau said in the statement.

Zhu was admitted to hospital in December 1994 and was confirmed as suffering from thallium poisoning on April 28 the following year. Beijing police authorities received a report of the case a week later, according to the statement.

During the police probe, local officers visited and interviewed more than 130 people and investigated 100 organizations that had access to thallium, it said.

But police failed to find direct evidence that could help to confirm the suspect despite all possible criminal investigation measures at that time. They lacked monitoring facilities and half a year after the crime was committed, the trace and physical evidence had been destroyed, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the special investigation team handled the case justly and in accordance with the law and did not receive interference from outside, it stated.

It sometimes applies that some cases can never be solved due to various objective conditions, such as the loss of evidence, said the bureau, urging the public to look on the case in a rational and objective way.

Under law, the police can not restrict a suspect's personal freedom when he or she does not confess to the crime and there is no sufficient evidence, said Chen Weidong, a professor of law at the China University of Political Science and Law.

If police then bowed to enormous public pressure and rushed to wind up this case, the suspect could have been wronged, Chen said.

The professor, however, urged the police authorities to launch a new investigation and use new technologies to see if there are any new breakthroughs.

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