CCTV News:Yesterday (20th), the Australian Parliament quickly passed a law in one day: extending the maximum sentence for the crime of polluting food from 10 years to 15 years. The reason for this is that there have been frequent incidents of hidden sewing needles in fruits such as strawberries in Australia recently.
Last week, Queensland police received the first report of strawberry needle hiding. A 21-year-old man was sent to hospital after eating strawberries containing needles. Subsequently, in many states, such as New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia, the strawberry pulp sold in supermarkets contained needles or other sharp metal objects. At present, Australia has received more than 100 reports of needles hidden in strawberries. Eating strawberries and eating sewing needles actually sounds a bit scary.
Strawberry Tibetan needle witnesses tell horror experiences
Jason, a 9-year-old boy, had this nightmare when he was eating strawberries not long ago. At that time, he almost ate a needle in his stomach. He opened his mouth and took out the needle. Jason’s experience really made his mother sweat. "This is hurting children. What these people have done is disgusting!" "
A man swallowed the needle in strawberry pulp and finally had to be hospitalized. "It’s shocking. I ate a strawberry, but I didn’t expect to be hospitalized."
Strawberries were hit hard by the off-shelf industry.
The incident of hiding needles in strawberries has obviously aroused the anxiety and panic of the Australian people. According to Australian media reports, many supermarkets in Australia have taken strawberries off the shelves as a preventive measure, and some strawberry brands have been recalled nationwide. One of the two major food distributors in New Zealand has removed Australian strawberries from the shelves, and some importers in Britain, Russia and other countries have stopped importing Australian strawberries. An Australian supermarket chain even announced that sewing needles would be removed from the shelves for the sake of customers’ safety. Not only that, farmers had to dump or destroy thousands of tons of strawberries because the price of strawberries fell sharply or even fell below the cost price.
Paulo silva, a member of the Strawberry Planting Association of Western Australia, said: "For us strawberry growers, it is a disaster for the whole industry. Because consumer confidence was frustrated, a large number of orders were cancelled. "
Police: Or employees of fruit manufacturers.
How can there be a sewing needle in the pulp of a good strawberry? According to the analysis of the Australian police after a preliminary investigation, the "strawberry hidden needle" may be the work of some disgruntled fruit factory employees, with the purpose of intentionally hurting people. As the incident continued, the police also suspected that someone might be deliberately imitating it, which made the incident wave after wave.
The Australian newspaper recently reported that the police in New South Wales arrested a teenager after a large number of investigations. The boy will be reprimanded and punished for the "mischief" of hiding needles in strawberries. The police said that the boy’s behavior should be an imitation of a prank.
What’s even more worrying is that this incident is still spreading. The fruits found with needles are not only strawberries, but also apples, bananas and mangoes. A girl in New South Wales, Australia, ate a needle while eating an apple, according to the No.18 police report. The police are currently investigating this incident.
Australian Prime Minister: The perpetrators of fruit hidden needles will be severely punished.
At present, Australia has started the investigation procedure and is looking for the real murderer behind the "strawberry hidden needle". Australian Prime Minister Morrison said on the 19th that strawberry needle collectors are "cowards" and "pests", and anyone who tries this behavior will be severely punished.
The government offered a reward for information about solving the case.
In addition to extending the maximum sentence of food pollution crime to 15 years, Australian Attorney General christian porter was quoted as saying that the government is considering imposing a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment on those malicious imitators.
At present, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia have announced a reward of 100,000 Australian dollars (about 500,000 yuan), hoping that the public can provide relevant information that will help solve the case.
At the same time, in order to help the battered strawberry industry, Queensland promised to provide 1 million Australian dollars (about 5 million yuan) to help strawberry growers who suffered losses. Some businesses in Western Australia have installed metal testers to detect boxed strawberries. Australian Prime Minister Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt encouraged people to continue to buy strawberries, but they should take preventive measures and cut them before eating.