SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia plans to increase the maximum jail term to 15 years for anyone convicted of contaminating foodstuffs, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday, as a scare over needles found in strawberries and other fruits gripped the country.
Police are investigating more than 100 reports of needles found in fruit. Needles, first found in strawberries produced by one supplier in the northern state of Queensland, are now turning up around the country.
On Tuesday, police in New South Wales said they were investigating incidents involving an apple and a banana.
Nobody has sustained serious injury yet, and a senior Australian minister said many of the cases would turn out to be hoaxes.
But with demand plunging, strawberry farmers have been forced to dump produce, casting a shadow over an industry worth A$160 million ($115.84 million).
The Committee on High Posts has approved the nomination of Former Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal (Retd.)
Former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickramasinghe, arrested on allegation of corruption by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has been remanded until July 1 by the Colombo Magistrate court.
A Sri Lankan man was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi airport for attempting to smuggle wildlife out of the country after three ball pythons were found hidden in his underwear, the Bangkok post reported.
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