California doctor accused of poisoning husband with Drano was trying to kill ants, not her spouse, lawyers claim

• A husband accused his wife of poisoning his tea with Drano a few times, leading to stomach ulcers.
• A grand jury indicted the wife, Yue "Emily" Yu, on charges of poisoning and domestic battery.

A Southern California doctor accused of spiking her husband's tea with Drano was not trying to poison her spouse but, instead, attempting to address an ant infestation, her lawyers claimed.

Yue "Emily" Yu, an Orange County-based dermatologist, was arrested last year after her husband, Jack Chen, accused her of poisoning his hot tea with Drano on three separate occasions.

Chen's suspicions of poisoning around March and April of last year led him to set up cameras in the kitchen to attempt to catch Yu in the act, according to the restraining order documents.

But Yu's lawyers, Scott Simmons and David Dworakowski, are claiming that Yu was trying to address an ant infestation and that accusations of poisoning her husband, along with video footage that claims to show Yu pouring liquid cleaner into a cup, are false and misrepresented.

"She does pour the Drano in the cup three times — to kill the ants. That's not disputed," Simmons told ABC 7. "She absolutely poured the Drano in the cup."

Simmons and Dworakowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chen's attorney, Steve Hittelman, told Insider on behalf of his client that the household "did not have an ant problem."

"This is the first time he's even heard of using Drano in a cup that somebody was drinking from to somehow keep ants away from someone," Hittelman said.

Dworakowski told The New York Post that Yu was relying on "unconventional methods" to get rid of the ants.

Chen filed for divorce and requested a restraining order last year against Yu after he became suspicious of a "chemical taste" in his hot tea around March and April of last year, court documents stated.

According to the documents, Chen, who is a radiologist, visited a doctor to examine symptoms he began to develop and learned he had two stomach ulcers, gastritis, and esophagitis.

"Based upon the diagnosis and my suspicions about the chemical taste, I put cameras in our kitchen," Chen said in his restraining order request. "I obtained footage of Emily poisoning me on three occasions."

The Orange County District Attorney's Office is also using the footage in its case against Yu. An Orange County grand jury indicted Yu on April 5 on three felony counts of poisoning and one felony count of domestic battery.

"On July 11, July 18, and July 25, 2022, video captured Yue Yu pouring a substance out of a bottle of liquid drain
cleaner into her husband's tea that was left on the counter," the DA's office said in a news release of the indictment.

Simmons told ABC7 that Yu was set up by her husband by putting "spy cameras or hidden cameras in the kitchen to catch her" pouring liquid drainer. "Then he claimed he was poisoned," he said.

According to the district attorney, Chen also submitted samples of the tea to the Irvine Police Department. Testing by the FBI found liquid drain cleaner in the substance.

Yu's arraignment is scheduled for April 18.