shell_exec returns string with “238” removed?

Finally found the solution:

One of the title strings contained the letter “ö” (oumlaut). In the shell context, the result of the select was correct, but not in the context of wordpress (maybe different localisation?). So, modifying the page title did the trick.

Hata!: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1045] Access denied for user 'divattrend_liink'@'localhost' (using password: YES)