Human Flesh Pills: China To Investigate Dead Baby Capsule Claims

BEIJING -- China will reinvestigate allegations that Chinese-made drug capsules containing powdered remains of dead babies are being smuggled into South Korea, state media reported Tuesday.

Ministry of Health spokesman Deng Haihua said an investigation launched last August found no proof that such capsules were being manufactured in China, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Some people believe the capsules can cure a variety of diseases.

Deng said in a statement that China would investigate again following new reports of such pills being smuggled into South Korea, Xinhua reported.

The statement was not posted on the ministry's website and calls to the ministry rang unanswered.

The Korea Customs Service said Monday it had seized capsules made in northeastern China from dead babies whose bodies were chopped into small pieces and dried on stoves before being turned into powder.

Deng said Chinese health departments would work with police, customs agencies and commerce authorities to investigate the latest claims, Xinhua said.

The South Korean customs agency began investigating after receiving a tip a year ago. No sicknesses have been reported from ingesting the capsules.

South Korean customs officials have refused to say where the dead babies came from or who made the capsules, citing possible diplomatic friction with Beijing.

They said they had discovered 35 smuggling attempts since August of about 17,450 capsules disguised as stamina boosters. Some people believe the capsules are a panacea for disease. However, they contain bacteria and other harmful ingredients, the customs agency said.

Earlier on HuffPost:

Comments

[richodg5]

04:03 AM on 06/11/2012

Can be found near bath salts at your local convenience store.

[PunKinPai]

01:44 PM on 05/14/2012

Assuming this is true and not a language misunderstanding, the most horrifying aspect to me is not that someone might take the pills to cure a disease...it's that human beings are "processing" the ingredients. How could anybody do that?

[southingtonian]

11:21 PM on 05/12/2012

LESS GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT! END THE FDA! (right?)

[LiberalRepublican3six]

07:29 PM on 05/12/2012

China is a country of cannibals.

[richodg5]

04:05 AM on 06/11/2012

Wow is that really true or are you pulling our legs. I think your pulling our legs.

[cmhthuang]

09:35 AM on 05/12/2012

Why I can't comment on it

[cmhthuang]

09:21 AM on 05/12/2012

The words in a Chinese web confused Me .it says that the Human Flesh pills are made of human placenta not really human Flesh .the original text :所谓的人肉胶囊并不是以“人肉”为原料，而是以胎盘为原料做的。You can search '人肉胶囊' at baidu .com

[cmhthuang]

09:13 AM on 05/12/2012

The words In a Website of China confused Me .It says that Human Flesh Pills are made of human placenta not really human Flesh .所谓的人肉胶囊并不是以“人肉”为原料，而是以胎盘为原料做的。and the Website is http://baike.baidu.com/view/6262145.htm

[robstanton]

09:42 AM on 05/11/2012

Remember Yue Yue, the toddler who was repeatedly run over by cars in Foshan, China, last year. People just kept walking past her as she lay dying. How could anyone be surprised that such people eat baby flesh?

[stephengn1]

10:38 PM on 05/10/2012

Prion disease anyone?

[PlayTOE]

09:57 PM on 05/10/2012

Anyone buying pills reported to be made from dead babies is truly sick ... (mentally and morally).

[Aeryn Reid]

03:17 PM on 05/12/2012

Deceased term infants are NOT the ideal in the Traditional Pharmacopia, you need fetal tissue, especially miscarriages of hypertonic Sodium Chloride abortions. The "extreme youth" of the tissue is conveyed thru ingestion, per a corollary of the doctrine of signatures. This is an ancient and entrenched belief, deeply ingrained in the rural chinese culture. I'm sure the pragmatic, omnivorous Chinese scoff at western squeamishness. ;)

[PlayTOE]

05:16 PM on 05/12/2012

The missing item
efficacy.
No studies show this as effective.

We avoid all forms of cannibalism for a reason ... human tissue is easily infected with human pathogens.

[Maderous]

09:03 PM on 05/10/2012

I live in South Korea and have traveled much of Asia, while there are a lot of very odd/disturbing/disgusting things they do in the name of health over here, this is beyond the pail. The government needs to call these people out and publicly ridicule them for doing this/ believing this. Go after the demand, not just the supply.

[dayzee10]

09:03 PM on 05/10/2012

Didn't Alice Cooper make an LP about this in the 1970's?

[Quanta]

05:51 PM on 05/10/2012

Johnathan Swift's patent must have expired.

But seriously, this is disturbing.

[AlanBannacheck]

04:57 PM on 05/10/2012

Just think of where are medications are manufactured!

[Lechiffre]

02:58 PM on 05/12/2012

Uh.. Foxconn pharmaceutics .

[abuckley23]

01:57 PM on 05/10/2012

That would be a #27 on the menu.

More seriously, how freaking disturbing is that?