Prosecution Details
| Offender | Baralda Pty Ltd |
| Trading Name | Perth Candy Company |
Charges
| Charge | Charge Number | Offence Date | Date Convicted | Regulation | Section | Penalty Provision | Penalty Imposed | Date Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PE29789 | 7 June 2005 | 18th February 2008 | 19(1) 19A(2) | 3A(3)(b)(i) | $20,000.00 | 18th February 2008 |
| Description of Breach(es) | Being an employer, did not so far as was practicable, provide and maintain a working environment in which its employees were not exposed to hazards and by that failure caused its employee serious harm and contravened sections 19(1) and 19A(2) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984. |
| Background Details |
1. At all relevant times the material facts were as set out below. 2. From its workplace in Osborne Park the accused operated a business that manufactured rock candy, supplied retail outlets with both its rock candy and confectionary manufactured by other businesses. 3. When the rock candy had been cooked at the accused's workplace it was processed by machines which included a humbug cutting machine. 4. The humbug cutting machine consisted of brass guide rollers and a set of horizontal and vertical blades which chopped the candy rope into a humbug shape. 5. On 7 June 2005 the humbug cutting machine's blades were unguarded. 6. On that date a 27 year old male employee of the accused, was pulling the rope of candy through the brass guide rollers so it could feed into the horizontal and vertical blades of the humbug cutting machine when the candy jammed in the brass guide rollers. He reached over to unjam it by spinning the wheels of the brass guide roller with his left hand. When he did this his right hand accidentally touched the horizontal and vertical blades of the humbug cutting machine, and was pulled into it. It then began to crush and chop his fingers as it would candy. He screamed and pushed the emergency stop button with his left hand. His right middle finger had been pulled into the humbug cutting machine until the horizontal and vertical blades of the humbug cutting machine reached the main knuckle. His fingers were trapped in the humbug cutting machine. 7. It took between 15 minutes and half an hour for the humbug cutter to be dismantled and the employee's finger to be freed from it. 8. The employee's right middle finger was severely injured and his right ring finger was severely lacerated. Initially his right middle finger was repaired. This was unsuccessful and it was later amputated at the middle knuckle. |
| Outcome Summary | Plead Guilty |
| Court | Magistrates Court of Western Australia - Perth |
| Costs | $2,080.70 |
Search the records of all successful prosecutions taken by WorkSafe under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 since 1st January 2005. Searching and indexing of this database is limited to convictions for offences against the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984 and Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 committed on or after 1 January 2005, when the statutory offence and penalty regimes were significantly amended.
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