Queensland strawberry farmers affected by the needle contamination crisis in September thanked Queensland Police for their efforts after they arrested a 50-year-old woman over the incident.
My Ut Trinh, who was a supervisor at Berry Licious farm at the time of the outbreak appeared at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Nov. 12.
Police have charged Ms Trinh with seven counts of contamination of goods with intent to cause economic loss. The offence normally carries a three-year maximum penalty.
The court heard it was an act of sabotage and Ms Trinh’s lawyer withdrew an application for bail.
“Given the crippling impact on the Queensland strawberry industry, the person responsible should be brought to account to the full extent of the law,” a spokesperson for The Queensland Strawberry Growers Association told New Idea.
While the SGA welcomed an arrest it has since expressed its concerns over copycat behaviour.
“It is disconcerting that the charges relate to only six or seven punnets of strawberries, proving that the majority of the 200 plus incidents were copycats or false reports,” the spokesperson continued.
“All of the government and industry is currently undertaking intensive review of the events and behaviours that brought the Queensland strawberry industryto its knees.”
Trinh’s arrest comes after police allegedly found her DNA in a punnet of strawberries two months after news broke across the country that some punnets had been contaminated with needles.
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