Milk-spiking case fails for second time

Police have failed for the second time to get a farm worker convicted on a charge of contaminating the milk supply.

The charge against Alon Menashe Dor, 40, of spiking 14,000 litres of milk stored on a dairy farm with penicillin, was withdrawn by the Crown prosecutor in the Ashburton District Court yesterday after DNA testing failed to link Mr Dor to the crime.

In April, the court threw out the police case against Mr Dor on the same charge because of a lack of evidence. The charge is thought to be the first of its kind under new product contamination laws.

Mr Dor, an Israeli, yesterday told the Herald he felt police had unfairly hounded him. He had abandoned plans to start a new life with his wife and 5-year-old son in New Zealand and wanted to return to Israel.

"My wife left because she was not feeling secure here. She is waiting for me to get back home," Mr Dor said through an interpreter.

"As far as I am concerned now I would be happy to go back tomorrow morning."

Police said the milk contamination case would remain open and new evidence could mean the charge being relaid. But Mr Dor's lawyer, Richard Peters, warned that could constitute a breach of the Bill of Rights.

"I would oppose it strongly, because they have had two bites of the cherry now and I have indicated to the Crown in previous correspondence that they ran [the risk of] a Bill of Rights issue with possible abuse of process," Mr Peters said.

"They thought they had the right man, but obviously they didn't. I think it's been a tragedy the way it has unfolded."

Mr Dor arrived in New Zealand in February, 2004 to start a new life and get work on a farm.

He got a job on a dairy farm owned by Mat and Vicki Stainton at Hinds, about 20km south-west of Ashburton. It was after losing his job there that police allege he fed tubes of penicillin into a vat of milk stored on the farm.

Mr Stainton said the contamination cost the Staintons $13,500 after the bad milk was added to other milk supplies and Fonterra had to dump it.

"I'm pragmatic about the [court] decision. This was never about money or recovery of money," Mr Stainton said.

"It was about removing a person from a multi-billion dollar industry ... "

Mr Dor must await the outcome of other charges before he can return to Israel.

He goes to trial in December on a charge of giving false information on a work permit application.

As well as that charge, he faces charges of threatening to kill, aggravated assault on police, resisting police and disorderly behaviour.