An angry employee who trashed his workplace and spread a chemical liquid around its warehouse during a 3am rampage has been fined £1,050.
Ross Haslett let himself into Thistle Seafoods in Boddam and flung chloroform around the warehouse, overturned workstations and damaged property before sending sexually “revolting” emails to a member of staff there.
The 37-year-old first stormed off mid-shift from the Harbour Street fish factory following an argument with a forklift driver on February 8 2021, Peterhead Sheriff Court was told.
But he returned at 3am when he was caught on CCTV sneaking through a hole in the fence and wandering in through the smokers’ door.
Threw dangerous chemical across warehouse
Fiscal depute Jennifer Pritchard said he first emptied his locker contents into a carrier bag before pulling the locker door off its hinges, overturning multiple workstations and damaging a whiteboard.
“He was then seen to throw an item into the room with liquid being seen to come out of the container,” she said.
“Inquiries established thereafter that the item thrown was the chemical chloroform which could affect individuals should it come into contact with skin.”
Chloroform, a colourless liquid that quickly evaporates into a gas, can harm the eyes, skin, liver, kidneys, and nervous system and can be toxic if inhaled.
Sent ‘revolting’ emails
The next morning a colleague logged into her email account and found emails from Haslett – all deemed too “revolting” to be read out in court but which the charges state involved requests for sexual activities and sexual communications.
Haslett was traced the next day.
After multiple appearances in court and having sacked at least two defence agents, he appeared in the dock and admitted charges of wilfully or recklessly destroying property, culpably and recklessly throwing chemical liquid, and intentionally sending a sexual communication at another without consent.
Representing himself in court, he was warned not to be “verbose” by Sheriff Annella Cowan, who told him the communications to his colleague were “revolting”.
She asked him: “Do you need psychiatric help?”
Haslett declined and provided various reasons for his behaviour, blaming lockdown, his need to work as he couldn’t get benefits and his perceived wrongdoing of others.
Blamed company for his actions
“I almost got run over by that forklift,” he said. “That’s illegal.
“And as for the liquid chemical – that liquid should have been locked away. No dangerous liquid should have been left around for an employee to access.”
He claimed to earn £30,000 to £40,000 per annum as an engineer but any further mitigation attempts were shut down with multiple demands he “be quiet”.
The court was told Haslett is already on the sex offenders register so needs not to be added again.
He was fined £1,050, which he must start paying off as soon as he reaches Wales, where he plans to move to imminently.
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