Jury considering Viagra-poisoning case

A jury is deciding whether a wealthy Christchurch businessman laced a microwave TV dinner with Viagra in the hope of having sex with a young real estate saleswoman.

The well-known Canterbury businessman, who has interim name suppression, denies luring the woman -- more than 30 years his junior -- to lunch at his Mid-Canterbury homestead where he is alleged to have put the male sex enhancement drug in her microwaved spaghetti bolognese.

He denies charges of poisoning with intent and indecent assault.

A jury of seven men and five women retired this morning to consider their verdict after Judge Phil Moran summed up.

The woman, who is in her early 20s, claimed in evidence on the first day of the trial on Monday that the meal tainted with pill fragments made her feel "woozy" and out of control.

While she was affected, the businessman lunged at her and tried to kiss her, she claimed. She turned her head and he kissed her repeatedly on her neck.

Judge Moran told jurors this morning the crown's case was that somebody put Viagra in the meal and there were only two candidates.

"This was no romantic dinner with candles," he said.

The prosecution, he said, claimed the incident involved the "surreptitious drugging" of the woman's meal so that the businessman could seduce her.

Judge Moran said the defence said simply that the crown had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, suggesting the complainant may have drugged her own meal in some way to force the businessman to include her in an exclusive property deal.

- NZPA