The 83-year-old Malaysian woman died and her husband ended up in the ICU after consuming pufferfish that contained deadly toxins. Their 51-year-old daughter Ng Ai Lee claimed that their 84-year-old father unknowingly purchased the fish from a fishmonger last Saturday because there weren’t many options left.

Her father went on to purchase pufferfish from the fishmonger who makes a weekly van visit to their village in Kampung Chamek, Johor state. The victim’s daughter expressed the hope that the public would be made more aware of the dangers of eating fish with high levels of toxins.

Her father did not hesitate because my parents have been purchasing fish from the same fishmonger for many years. Her father began exhibiting similar symptoms about an hour after her mother started having breathing problems and shivers while frying fish for lunch on the same day. Her mother’s demise was determined to be caused by food poisoning, possibly as a result of consuming the fish. It has neurological symptoms like irregular heartbeat and respiratory failure.

According to Ng, her father is still in an intensive care unit coma while being treated for internal infections. Because the doctor warned us that even if he survives the ordeal, he might not be the same anymore due to his advanced age, I am braced for the worst, she said.

Puffer fish is one of the world’s most dangerous delicacies, and chefs may be required to have a licence and years of training before serving it. Fugu, also referred to as puffer fish, is a preferred Japanese delicacy. Tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin found in fish, is up to 1,200 times more lethal than cyanide, claims National Geographic.