POISONS FROM INOEGANIC SOUECES 231 



dose was given shortly, e.g.^ twenty-four hours, before 

 death. In these cases of acute poisoning arsenic may 

 be found in the various internal organs many months 

 after death ; in chronic eases it can be found in the long 

 bones, hair, and nails perhaps years after death. It is 

 well to remember that it can be found in the soil at the 

 bottom of the grave which has been wetted by juices 

 that have soaked out of the corpse, and if found an 

 additional control sample of uncontaminated soil taken 

 in the neighbom-hood of the grave must also be analysed. 

 The medical practitioner— in Malaya especially — will 

 remember that an appreciable amount of arsenic was 

 found by analysis in the hair of Chinese pigtails and in 

 the nails of Chinese w^ho were the victims of beri-beri, 

 when, for the moment, beri-beri was suggested to be due 

 to peripheral neuritis caused by arsenical poisoning, 

 similar to that which occurred among drinkers of cheap 

 beer and porter in England about the same time 

 (1900 — 1901). It has been suggested that the " time- 

 poisons *' used by the notorious Italian poisoners La 

 Spara and Tofania, mentioned in Chapter I, may have 

 been a preparation of arsenic in solution (see also 

 ChSngkian, p. 145). 



CYANIDE OF POTASSIUM 



Before the sale of powerful poisons was controlled by 

 Government in 1913 cyanide of potassium was freely 

 bought and sold in Kota Bharu without restriction. It 

 used to be sold under the names of potas and uhat 

 herchelup mas (medicine for dyeing gold), especially to 

 Malay goldsmiths and Chinese photographers. 



Methods of Poisoning by CyaDide of Potassium. 

 —An abominable example of premeditated mm-der 

 occurs in the use of cyanide of potassium mixed with 

 honey by Malay criminals. Reference to this practice 



