He later collapsed in his cell
A man tried to kill himself in the prison dock by eating a poisoned Snickers bar whilst he was being found guilty of child sex offences.
The elderly man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in the process of being delivered guilty verdicts on Friday over four child sex offences when he produced the chocolate bar which was laced with rat poison.
He had been on trial in the Warrnambool County Court, in Victoria, Australia, where he stood accused of molesting his partner’s young daughter.
Warrnambool Standard crime reporter Andrew Thomson reported that the man, believed to be in his 70s, took the chocolate bar out of his pocket in the courtroom.
When he was told by custody staff that he was not allowed to eat in court, he scoffed the Snickers bar.
“He then told the custody staff he had poisoned himself as he had laced the chocolate bar with rat poison,” Thomson wrote.
The man was remanded in custody and later collapsed in a cell at Warrnambool police station, and broke a finger.
He was then treated at the local hospital for poisoning. It is thought he had not put enough rat poison in the chocolate bar to kill himself.
He has since been deemed well enough to return to the Warrnambool police station cells.
The man was found guilty of two counts of sexual penetration of a child aged under 16 years and two counts of committing an indecent act with a child aged under 16 years.
Prosecutors alleged the offences took place between 1991 and 2000 while the girl was aged between four and 14 years old.
The man is expected to be moved to a remand prison until September 11 where he will face a preliminary sentence hearing.
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