Farm supervisor faces charges over fear of strawberry needles in Australia

A 50-year-old farm supervisor He was accused of having intentionally implanted needles into Australian strawberries and could spend up to 10 years in prison if he is found guilty.

In September, the repeated discovery of needles stuck in grocery strawberries sparked a widespread alarm, prompting farmers to get rid of huge amounts and triggered a national inquiry.

A spokeswoman for the Queensland Strawberry Growers Association told ABC's Australian television channel that police had hired over 100 agents in the case. Intelligence agencies also participated in "the complex investigation," said local police.

Now, a woman named My Ut Trinh has been charged with seven counts of property contamination. The authorities claim that the alleged offense was "aggravated", it is punishable by a 10-year prison term instead of the typical three-year maximum.

The BBC reports that a total of 186 strawberries with needles were found in the country, including 15 hoaxes; we do not know yet how many women were responsible.

A man was hospitalized after swallowing half of a needle. At least two children encountered needles in strawberries but were not injured.

My Ut Trinh is held without bail.

"Ms. Trinh was working as a supervisor at Berry Licious Farm, but her attorney said she was not working at picking strawberries or in the packaging warehouses," ABC reported. "The court learned that the woman was acting out of spite and that it was an act of sabotage."

But Trinh's defense attorney argued that the prosecution had not described any specific motive for the contamination.

The Queensland Strawberry Growers Association is pleased with this arrest and has called for the so-called strawberry saboteur to be "held responsible to the fullest extent permitted by law".

But the group also noted that many of the information pointing to needles appeared to be imitators or false information, and said that falsely claiming people asking for attention or a financial reward should also make the # 39, subject to criminal prosecution.

The needle crisis has been financially damaging for the country's strawberry producers. The industry urged consumers to ensure their safety by cutting strawberries before eating them, rather than avoiding buying them completely.

As ABC notes, some strawberry advocates and farmers have launched a social media campaign – #SmashAStrawb – to share recipes calling for sliced ​​or melted strawberries, which could be eaten safely.

Copyright NPR 2018.