School probe over 'spiked' drink

By Bernard Orsman

Several boys at Auckland's Remuera Intermediate School are under investigation for allegedly spiking a teacher's drink with what may have been a poisonous substance.

The police youth aid section is investigating the incident involving six boys and a woman teacher last week, although the school believes there are no sinister overtones.

The teacher is understood to have taken a sip of water from a mug and spat it out after it tasted odd. She was unharmed.

Sources have suggested to the New Zealand Herald that the substance was silica gel, a moisture absorber commonly used in articles like vitamin bottles.

But the principal of the 660-pupil school, Kevin Gooch, said there were varying reports about what may have been put in the drink.

"Someone said it was chalk, someone said it was something else and someone said it was poison," he said.

A spokeswoman for the National Poison Centre in Dunedin said silica gel sachets were marked poisonous and not to be eaten.

However, she would not expect any symptoms from swallowing the substance because it was virtually non-toxic.

Mr Gooch said he had interviewed one boy and would talk to another five boys today.

"I have my own idea of what has happened," he said.

"I think there has been some silly little incident of something being put in a drink and [whoever did it] didn't realise the implications.

"If it is a substance it could have done some harm to somebody and we need to follow that through."

Darrell Ward, the president of NZEI, the primary teachers union, was unaware of the incident and said he would wait until the outcome of the investigation before commenting.

But if it was true, then it would be the first case he had heard of pupils attempting to poison a teacher, he said.

Mr Ward said the union had concerns for teacher safety, with increasing incidents of insolence and defiance in primary and intermediate schools.