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A disgruntled hotel worker in Malaga has been sentenced to a year in prison after trying to poison tourists and colleagues by contaminating food with bleach when she discovered her contract wasn't going to be renewed.

 

The woman, who worked as a waitress at a hotel in Benalmádena, admitted what she had done during court proceedings and was convicted of an attempted crime against public health.

 

The incidents happened at the end of May 2023, just days before her employment was due to come to an end.

 

According to the ruling, her first attempt came on the morning of May 26. She tampered with a bottle of milk in the hotel's bar area, adding sodium hypochlorite, the main chemical found in household bleach. The milk was intended for hotel staff to drink, meaning her actions could have put her own colleagues at risk.

 

Five days later, on the evening of May 31, she allegedly went further. At around 9pm, just hours before her contract was officially due to expire on June 1, she went to the dessert section of the hotel's buffet and poured a glass of bleach over a tray containing yoghurt, pineapple and watermelon.

 

The food had been prepared and was ready to be eaten by hotel guests.

 

The court found that she acted with the clear intention of causing harm to the hotel through food poisoning. However, her plan was stopped when several guests spotted what she was doing and raised the alarm.

 

As a result, the contaminated food was not eaten and a potentially serious risk to the health of hotel customers and staff was avoided.

 

The case did not go to a full trial after the woman reached an agreement with the Public Prosecutor's Office and her legal representatives.

 

She admitted the charges and accepted a one-year prison sentence, along with a one-year ban on holding public office and an order to pay the court costs.

 

However, she won't currently have to go to prison.

 

The woman had no previous criminal record and, because her sentence was no more than two years, the court agreed to suspend the prison term for two years.

 

The suspension comes with conditions. If she commits another offence during that period, the suspension can be revoked and she could be required to serve the prison sentence.

 

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