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Australia: MP apologizes for shining laser pointer on colleague

A Member of Parliament apologized to his colleague after shining a red laser pointer on his forehead while they were sitting in a Western Australia Legislative Council meeting in Perth, on May 8 2014.

The president of the Council stopped the proceedings when he noticed the red dot on Liberal MP Bernie Finn, and said “It is extraordinary and a matter of concern to have that sort of device aimed at a member and it wasn’t just once, it was on his forehead a couple of times. You’re actually very lucky in this circumstance that I don’t send you out of the house because I regard it as that serious.”

Labor MP Adem Somyurek apologized to Finn, saying he had collected the pen from an exhibition inside Parliament and had been playing with it in the Council. “I shouldn’t have done that, I consider Mr Finn a friend,” said Somyurek.

From Perth Now

Australia: Driver has eye injury for days after laser attack

A driver in a Perth suburb suffered damage to his left eye, after a green laser beam was aimed through his windshield on August 28 2011. Anthony Zuvela said “I couldn’t see out of my left eye and my eye was burning…it was a very frightening experience.” He went for tests which showed that no permanent damage was done, although he was to stay away from bright light: “All Sunday and half of Monday, I wasn’t allowed to drive or go outside. I had to stay indoors in darkness and had a patch on my left eye.” He said the pressure behind his eye and itchiness lasted for days.

As of September 15, police have not found the perpetrator. There was a crackdown in the state of Western Australia in 2009. It is illegal to “cause fear or alarm in a driver by directing a laser pointer at a vehicle.” The penalty can be up to seven years in jail and an AUS $36,000 fine.

From InMyCommunity.com