Ambon. A mother and her two young daughters died after consuming a highly poisonous puffer fish, also known as Fugu, in the eastern province of Maluku, police said on Wednesday.

The family had consumed fried puffer fish, served by the husband for breakfast in the Saparua District on Tuesday, according to the district police chief, Adjunct Commissioner Yopy Walalayo.

He identified the victims as Lenny Latuperissa, 28, Keisya Berhitu, 5, and Chrismen Berhitu, 2.

After breakfast, the wife took Keisya and her son Frans Berhitu to a nearby river, while Chrismen stayed at home with her father, Steven Berhitu.

Within less than an hour, Chrismen started experiencing severe symptoms, and shortly afterward, Lenny and her daughter returned home with the help of a neighbor, both in critical condition, according to the officer.

"The wife asked Steven to immediately take them to the hospital as she felt suffocating and pain in the throat and mouth," Yopy said.

Although the family reached Saparua Municipal Hospital around 10 a.m., the mother and her two daughters were pronounced dead by noon. Steven did not request an autopsy on the bodies of his wife and daughters, and the case was determined as a fatal food poisoning incident.

The pufferfish, also called swellfish, is listed among 10 of the world’s most dangerous fish by the online encyclopedia Britannica due to a highly toxic substance, tetraodontoxin, which is especially concentrated in the internal organs.

According to Britannica, “puffers are found in warm and temperate regions around the world, primarily in the sea but also, in some instances, in brackish or fresh water”.

Countries like Japan and South Korea have adopted laws allowing only qualified and well-trained chefs to prepare the fish as dishes.

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