Libya: Jilted woman kills ex-lover with poisoned medicine

Cairo: Libyan police said they had arrested a woman who had allegedly posed as an online doctor and killed her former lover using a poisoned medicine.

The 30-year-old woman had previously had an affair with the victim, but they broke up due to an unspecified dispute. Later, she struck up friendship with the same man on Facebook, using a false name to conceal her true identity and learnt from him that he was suffering from a colon disorder, the Libyan Interior Ministry said.

The woman claimed she was a doctor at a hospital in the capital Tripoli, prompting the unsuspecting man to send her his medical reports. The fake doctor told the man she had a medicine that could treat him.

After her arrest, the suspect said she had communicated online with her ex-lover with the intention of taking revenge on him for having left her. She laced the medicine with a deadly insecticide and sent it in a bottle through a taxi driver to him. He died after taking it, the ministry added in a statement.

The incident came to police’s attention after the victim’s brother lodged a legal complaint with authorities in April.

The ministry said the case along with collected evidence had been sent to Libya’s chief prosecutor for further investigations.