South Orange County Dermatologist Charged With Using Drano To Poison Husband In Irvine

MISSION VIEJO, CA — A Mission Viejo dermatologist was charged with reportedly poisoning her husband by putting Drano in his tea, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday.

Yue "Emily" Yu was charged with three counts of poisoning and a count of corporal injury on a spouse, all felonies, Orange County court records show. The reported dates of the poisonings are July 11, July 18 and July 25 of last year, the complaint said.

Yu is scheduled to be arraigned April 18 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

Yu and her estranged husband, physician Dr. Jack Chen, have been locked in a child custody dispute since 2022. She was granted visitation, but recently filed to have Chen pay support to her, claiming she had been unable to work since the poisoning allegations surfaced.

The 53-year-old radiologist filed a restraining order against his 45-year-old wife in August.

Yu was arrested by Irvine police on suspicion of attempting to poison her husband in August, according to a previous Patch report. She was released after posting $30,000 bail that same month.

Chen said Yu called him asking to post bail but he refused, the restraining order said.

Providence Mission Hospital, where Yu had privileges, issued a statement regarding the arrest when it happened. They stated they were aware of Yu's arrest and are cooperating fully with the Irvine Police Department.

"This incident is a domestic matter which occurred in Irvine," a Mission Hospital spokesperson wrote. "We want to reassure our community that there has been no impact on our patients."

Yu's previous defense attorney, David Wohl, said she was pouring the clog cleaner in a small cup to clear out the pipes like anyone else would. He denied that she did anything wrong.

In the restraining order applications, Chen said he is "fearful" of living in the same Irvine home with Yu "due to (Yu's) attempts to poison me with Drano."

Chen also alleged that "both children have suffered physical, verbal and emotional abuse by their mother ... and their maternal grandmother."

Chen said that in March and April of last year he "started noticing a chemical taste in my lemonade" and soon after that he "developed symptoms that had me see the doctor, who performed an examination and diagnosed me with two stomach ulcers, gastritis and esophagitis."

That prompted Chen to set up surveillance video in the kitchen, and he attached videos and photos that he alleged show his wife pouring Drano into his drinks.

He said the two began dating in 2011 and married July 4, 2012.

He detailed multiple instances of alleged child abuse inflicted on their children.

"After the children were born, I became concerned about Emily's behavior," Chen said. "Not only was she very demanding of me that I give her massages -- one time when I could not because I was sick she stepped on my head until I did -- she also began hiding money from me."

He said his wife's "parenting -- if you could call it that -- revolves around yelling, insulting, verbally abusing, hitting, pushing, pulling and being emotionally abusive."

He claimed that if the two children said they enjoyed spending time with him, she would "put them in their room and yell at them until they assured her they would not show affection toward me."

He also accused her of "sleep deprivation" punishment at times.

Chen turned over samples of the tea, which were tested by the FBI, which confirmed it contained a substance consistent with liquid drain cleaner, according to prosecutors.

City News Service, Patch Staffer Ashley Ludwig contributed to this article.