Farmhand to pay for ruined milk

A 19-year-old disgruntled farmhand has been ordered to sell his assets to escape a prison sentence.

Christopher Paul Sluys caused $20,000 damage on a Rakaia farm by contaminating milk and flooding a cottage because he believed his employer owed him two weeks' pay when he resigned last year.

He earlier pleaded guilty to three burglary charges and using penicillin to contaminate 25,000 litres of milk.

In the Christchurch District Court, Judge David Saunders said the milk contamination charge was particularly serious and could have justified a jail sentence.

But the community would be better served by Sluys remaining in the workforce and continuing to pay reparation.

He adjourned the case until next month so Sluys could sell his car, which was worth about $4000, but warned that all sentencing options remained open.

- NZPA