A father-of-three from Western Australia has been sentenced to 16 months in jail after a supposed prank went horribly wrong at Bunnings in Northam.
Paul Andrew Hart, 52, appeared in the District Court on July 22 after he sprayed a chilli-based substance called “Satan’s Spit” in the hardware store on Anzac Day last year.
Security footage showed Hart walking into the store, passing by a mum and her young daughter before spraying the substance. The effects on shoppers around him were immediate — coughing, burning eyes, and some were reportedly struggling just to breathe. Hart continued further through the aisles, spraying again, before leaving the store covering his own face. The prank caused a full store evacuation, with some customers and children visibly distressed.
Eleven people had to be taken to hospital after exposure to the chilli spray, where they were told to strip off for a decontamination shower outside.
One person told the court, “We were naked and afraid, I was freezing cold and embarrassed,” per 9 News.
Another recalled the panic at the time, saying, “My lungs tightened, I was gasping for air.”
The store lost $16,000 in profits after it was forced to close for the rest of the public holiday.
Hart told the court he’d meant to play a fart prank using a novelty spray, but had mistakenly grabbed the can of Satan’s Spit instead. He said he’d been drinking Wild Turkey, cider and champagne earlier that day after a rough night, according to The West Australian.
However, District Court judge Felicity Zempilas was not convinced.
“You looked down at the spray twice and it would have been immediately clear,” Judge Zempilas said.
“You deliberately brought a noxious and a dangerous product to a public place.”
The court also heard this wasn’t Hart’s only run-in with the law. While waiting to be sentenced for the Bunnings incident, he was given jail time for making false statements against an ex-partner, a custody officer, and a prosecutor, and he currently has unresolved arrest warrants in Queensland and South Australia.
Hart will be eligible for parole later in the year.
Lead image: 9 News / Bunnings
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