Woman charged over Australian strawberry spiking
My Ut Trinh, 50, accused of sparking nationwide panic by hiding needles in supermarket fruit

A former farm supervisor seeking revenge over a workplace row sparked nationwide panic by hiding needles in strawberries, an Australian court heard yesterday.
My Ut Trinh, 50, was arrested on Sunday and appeared before magistrates in Brisbane today charged with seven counts of contamination of goods. If found guilty, she could face ten years in prison. The Vietnamese refugee was identified by police using DNA evidence recovered from a contaminated punnet of fruit in Victoria.
Prosecutors claim that Trinh, who worked as a supervisor at a berry farm north of Brisbane, acted out of a desire for revenge after a disagreement with her employer.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Magistrate Christine Roney described the case as “highly unusual” and said the defendant’s alleged motive was “hard to understand”, says the Brisbane Times.
Trinh’s lawyer attempted to file a bail request but “the magistrate forced him to withdraw it, in part for her own protection”, Nine News reports - an indication of the strength of feeling generated by the case across Australia.
The first spiked punnet was discovered in Queensland in September, when a man was admitted to hospital after swallowing half a needle concealed in a strawberry he had purchased from Woolworths, one of Australia’s major supermarket chains.
Since then, more than 100 incidents of spiked strawberries have been reported across the country, along with isolated cases of needles disguised in apples, bananas and mangoes. However, most of the cases are believed to be fake or the work of twisted copycats.
Following the first incident, Woolworths announced that it was temporarily suspending sales of sewing needles in stores and online, amid increasing panic over fruit tampering.
The hysteria has “severely damaged Australia's multimillion dollar fruit industry”, CNN reports. “Large numbers of strawberries were recalled from Australian supermarkets, and many farmers were forced to bin their crops.”
In response to the scare, the government announced that the maximum penalty for food tampering would rise from ten years to 15 years in prison.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also issued a warning to the perpetrator. “It’s not a joke, it’s not funny, you’re putting the livelihoods of hard-working Australians at risk and you’re scaring children,” he said. “You’re a coward and you’re a grub and if you do that sort of thing in this country we will come after you.”
In a statement today, the Queensland Strawberry Growers Association applauded the arrest and called for copycats to be brought to justice for their part in whipping up what they called “a crisis driven by social media”.
Trinh, who has lived in Australia for two decades, will remain in custody until her next court hearing, on 22 November.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The Waterboys
Feature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
By The Week US
-
Are bonds worth investing in?
the explainer They can diversify your portfolio and tend to be a safer investment than stocks
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
Elon has his 'Legion.' How will Republicans encourage other Americans to have babies?
Today's Big Question The pronatalist movement finds itself in power
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
The Aussie beach cabana drama
Row over using tents to reserve a spot on the sand has even drawn in the prime minister
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK