Detergent lands pharmacist in court

THE actions of a Sydney pharmacist who sprayed detergent on a customer have been deemed to be reasonable self defence, after a tussle over a $7 eye liner.

Channel 7 reported the hearing in Burwood court last Friday, with a female customer claiming pharmacist Kamal Kotb assaulted her in Dec 2016.

The customer, Roxanne Holmes, allegedly tried an eyeliner on in the store but didn’t have enough money to purchase it.

She later returned and was confronted by Kotb who demanded payment for the cosmetic.

CCTV footage from the Ryde pharmacy showed Holmes tipping detergent over a shelf in fury at the accusations, after which the pharmacist picked up the same bottle and squirted her with it.

Holmes was also shown sweeping several bottles off a shelf.

Kotb admitted he had reacted inappropriately, but said he thought the customer was a threat and just wanted to get her out of the store, with the judge agreeing his actions were reasonable. Guild president George Tambassis.

He said pressure would continue to be applied, with the Guild also working closely with the full line wholesalers who are seeking the same solution as the Guild.

The Guild lobbying efforts join other action including from the Amcal Guardian National Council which has urged pharmacies to contact their local MP, Health Minister Greg Hunt and AZ itself to express concern over the issue (W yesterday).

Last week AZ confirmed that effective 01 Nov it would only allow pharmacies to order nine of its higher cost products directly from the company, saying the change would allow it to “monitor supply and demand for these specialised products more closely”.

Affected items include Zoladex, ZolaCos, Cosudex, Iressa, Lynparza, Tagrisso, Brilinta, Bydureon and Byetta, with 32 other AZ products to continue distribution through existing wholesalers.