BERLIN – Prosecutors are asking a court in Germany to sentence a 57-year-old man to life in prison for allegedly poisoning co-workers’ sandwiches over several years.

German news agency dpa reported Wednesday that prosecutors are seeking the long sentence for attempted murder because the alleged victims nearly died. Two have serious kidney damage and a third is in a coma with irreparable brain damage.

The defendant, whose name hasn’t been released, is accused of lacing colleagues’ lunches with substances including lead acetate and mercury between 2015 and 2018.

He was arrested in May after surveillance video showed him putting a suspicious powder on a colleague’s sandwich. Prosecutors believe he was motivated by wanting to watch their physical deterioration.

The Bielefeld regional court is expected to deliver its verdict on March 7.