Schools Searched As Police Hunt Poison 'lunatic'

The Age

Wednesday August 9, 2006

BEN DOHERTY with AAP

MORE than 750 schools in Brisbane were searched for rat poison yesterday after a children's playground in the city's north was contaminated and a threat made to plant the poison at three schools around the city.

A search of primary and high schools across Brisbane failed to discover any poison following a threat made on Monday night.

But the Kidspace playground in Chermside was closed following the discovery of Ratsak pellets around the site.

A man in the northern suburb of Nundah who went to check his fuse box about 8pm on Monday following a power blackout found a note on the box saying the Kidspace playground had been poisoned, along with three unnamed Brisbane schools.

The note read: "I have poised (sic) Kidspace Chermide (sic) and three schools around Brisbane. Try finding."

A similar incident occurred on Sunday night when a woman found a similar note near her fuse box. Police said it was not a threat but written in the same style as the Nundah note.

Monday's threat sparked a massive hunt across Brisbane, and a hotline for concerned parents was set up. The Government considered closing every school in the city. "We are taking it very, very seriously," police Chief Superintendent Paul Wilson said.

Premier Peter Beattie described the person making the threat as a lunatic and said anyone with information had a moral obligation to contact police. He said several people were under suspicion and doorknocks had been made in Chermside.

Shop owners or staff who have sold rat poison in the past two days have been asked to contact police.

The Ratsak threat is the fourth contamination scare in Queensland this year.

In March, the Sizzler restaurant chain shut down when Ratsak was found in the salad bars of two outlets.

In May, Top Taste bakery stopped production when it discovered that sharp metal objects had been planted in cakes over five months. Last month, farmers in Bowen discovered their water supply had been deliberately contaminated with herbicide Roundup, killing tomato, bean, capsicum and watermelon crops. -- With AAP

© 2006 The Age

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