Brisbane woman arrested over strawberry contamination scandal
A 50-year-old woman from Caboolture in Brisbane's north has been charged over the strawberry contamination scandal in Queensland.
My Ut Trinh is facing court today charged with seven counts of contamination of goods which carries a three-year maximum penalty, although authorities will allege the woman’s offences were aggravated, making the maximum penalty 10 years in jail if she is convicted.
Believed to be a former worker of the Berrylicious and Berry Obsession farm in south-east Queensland, Trinh was linked to the needle found in a punnet of strawberries by her DNA.
The initial tampering of strawberries led to a series of copycat incidents that saw tonnes of fruit being destroyed. The Queensland Growers Association has called for copycat offenders to face charges.
"It was a crisis driven by social media and the only real victims were the strawberry growers, and to some extent other Australian fruit growers and exporters," it said in a statement.
Sheridan Randall, 12th November 2018
