New Zealand entrepreneur to pay Canterbury grandmother’s $3300 fine for chicken sandwich

A New Zealand entrepreneur will pay a grandmother’s fine of more than $3000 for a chicken sandwich she forgot was in her backpack when she arrived in Australia to visit family.

On Tuesday, Canterbury woman June Armstrong spoke with the Herald about her ordeal when she arrived at Brisbane Airport with a sealed chicken sandwich in her backpack that she purchased at Christchurch Airport.

Following the article, a New Zealand entrepreneur, who wished to remain anonymous, contacted the Herald and said he wanted to cover Armstrong’s fine.

In a message to Armstrong, the man said he had read the Herald’s story and was “shocked”. He asked for her bank account number and he would send her the money.

“No one should have to go through that stress for no reason. Happy to help take that off you.”

Armstrong replied thanking the man for the “wonderful gesture”.

She was in tears when she spoke with the Herald and said she was “overwhelmed”.

“I never did it to get the money back, the money was gone and there was nothing I could do about it, but it was just eating me up. I just felt it was unfair and that other people should be warned.

“I’m absolutely dumbfounded... I can’t believe people are that kind.”

She said the generosity made her “believe in people again”.

“I just cannot believe that someone would do that for a stranger.

“He must be the nicest man.”

The chicken sandwich

Armstrong arrived at Christchurch Airport on May 2 about 4am for an early morning flight to Brisbane to spend three months house-sitting and visiting family.

The 77-year-old was supposed to fly with her husband a few days earlier but changed her flight after she made her first bowls final.

When she got to the airport, she bought a muffin and a gluten-free chicken and lettuce sandwich, which was sealed.

“I sat down and ate some of my muffin and I really didn’t feel like it so I threw the rest away, but I put the sandwich in my small backpack,” she told the Herald.

“I just clearly forgot. I am very forgetful, but not forgetful enough to be diagnosed with dementia.”

Armstrong, who initially intended to eat the sandwich on the plane, fell asleep once onboard. She then filled out a declaration form and said she had some prescription medication.

Once in Australia, she went through border patrol, where her suitcase and backpack were checked.

As the official went through her backpack, he found the chicken sandwich.

“I said, ‘Oh, I forgot about that, I’m sorry. Could you throw it away for me?’. He just kept going through my bag.”

June Armstrong paid the fine after getting no replies to her queries. Photo / George Heard

She then emptied her bag on the table while the man went away. While she waited, a couple she saw in Christchurch walked past.

“I said, ‘Oh, I might be on TV’, never thinking anything was wrong.”

A short while later the man returned and said, “Twelve points, 3300″.

“I said, ‘What does that mean?’ and he said, ‘Twelve points, $3300′.”

Armstrong asked if he was joking. Once she realised he was not, she began crying.

“I was just sobbing and said ‘$3300 for a little sandwich?’”

Armstrong is worried about the financial burden the fine has left. Photo / George Heard

Another staffer went over and offered her some water and a chair to sit on.

A short while later, Armstrong called her husband, who was waiting to pick her up. She began telling him what had happened when her phone was taken off her, and the staffer told her husband she would be out shortly.

Another staffer informed her she could appeal the fine and “strongly advised” she did.

Armstrong said she tried to appeal within the 28-day payment period, only to get automatic replies.

“My husband kept saying, ‘Just pay it’. I said, ‘It’s our pension, we can’t afford this’.”

Armstrong paid the fine before the deadline, incurring a fee of NZ$3700.

After paying, she sent another email asking why she was fined when it was her first infringement, why the fine was so high, and mentioning that the sandwich was sealed.

She also sent an email one month later to say the fine was having a significant impact on her life.

“I think of it night and day, I now am on sleeping tablets,” she wrote.

“I am consumed by how much this fine was and how much it will affect our lives.”

As of Tuesday, she had received no response.

Armstrong told the Herald that she and her husband, who have been married for 47 years, had about $30,000 in savings as well as their pensions.

“That’s all we have. Everything we’ve got is freehold. I never buy anything that we can’t have.

“We’ve worked bloody hard all our life for what we’ve got … we live from week to week.”

The couple had considered selling their caravan, as well as giving up bowls, which cost about $220 a year.

“He’s persuaded me not to, it’s the only thing we do. It’s the only entertainment we have and we do it quite a few days a week.”

A spokeswoman for Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry told the Herald that Armstrong would have needed an import permit to bring the chicken sandwich into the country.

“Meat has strict import conditions which can change quickly based on disease outbreaks,” the spokeswoman said. “Uncanned meats, including vacuum-sealed items, are not allowed into Australia unless accompanied by an import permit.”

Armstrong didn’t declare the sandwich, having forgotten it, but did declare the prescription medication she was carrying.

“Where travellers fail to declare risk items,” the department spokeswoman said, “they may be given an infringement notice up to AU$6260 ($6790).

“All food products must be declared on arrival and may be inspected to ensure they comply with import conditions. Items that do not meet these conditions are not permitted into Australia.”

The department spokeswoman pointed to biosecurity announcements on flights which told travellers what their declaration obligations were, as well as signage about it around arrivals areas in Australian airports.

Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2022 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.