Prosecutors to appeal sentence in Tipp backpacker case

Prosecutors in Australia have announced that they will be appealing the sentence handed down to a packing company after a Tipperary back packer received life altering injuries.

Tipperary native Annie Dunne suffered extensive injuries after getting caught in a conveyor belt at the firm’s packing shed in 2015

Annie Dunne from Kilkeary near Nenagh was on a backpacking trip in Asutralia when she started working for Kalafatis Packing in November of 2015.
On the day of the accident, Annie was cleaning a conveyor belt at a packing shed in Shepparton Victoria when a colleague mistakenly turned the machine on.

Her hair got entangled in the conveyor belt and she suffered horrific injuries to her scalp and ear.

The company pled guilty to failing to provide a safe system of work and was fined fifty thousand dollars.

But prosecutors have announced that they will be appealing the sentence.

An appeal was lodged on wednesday, with Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Gavin Silbert saying the sentence was manifestly inadequate.

Kalafatis Packing was ordered in court to pay the fine but did not receive a conviction.