A student who mixed a toxic chemical into a bowl of instant noodles in a desperate suicide bid is out of danger and has been discharged from hospital, doctors revealed yesterday.

The 23-year-old student, identified only as Li, 23, said she downed 25g of thallium trinitrate she purchased on the Internet last month because she was very depressed about her looks and tired of the world.

But after 23 days of treatment, medics at Nanfang Hospital in Guangzhou, where she was transferred to from a local hospital that lacked the facilities to help her, this week cleared her to return home with her parents to Suzhou, in Jiangsu province.

Meanwhile, police said they have arrested the man who sold Li the potentially lethal poison online.

"There is still a long way to go before Li completely recovers from the thallium poisoning. There is no telling what might happen or whether there will be a hangover in the future," said Zhao Deqiang, a doctor at the hospital yesterday.

Thallium is a partially soluble soft metal that is highly toxic and is used in rat poisons and insecticides. It has become known as the "poisoners' poison" for its use in several murders.

A bluish-grey substance, it can easily be absorbed through the skin, lungs and digestive tract, causing serious damage to the stomach and nervous system, in some cases leading to paralysis and even death.

Li graduated from Nanjing University last year but, according to her parents, had become too depressed to start looking for a job.

"She has always been unhappy with her appearance. After graduation, she just stayed home and hasn't been in touch with her friends," said the girl's mother.

Under to the Chemicals and Dangerous Goods Safety Management Regulations, issued by the State Council, toxic substances cannot be traded without buyers first providing a special permit.

(China Daily March 20, 2009)