Work for the dole case in city court

CHARGES against the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland (RASQ) and a Work for the Dole program co-ordinator arising from the death of a teenager at the Toowoomba Showgrounds in 2016 have been mentioned before the city’s Magistrates Court.

No members of the RASQ or co-accused Adrian Strachan were in court for the mention which was done via a telephone hook-up between representatives of the Workplace Health and Safety prosecution, the co-accused’s defence solicitor and Toowoomba Magistrate Damian Carroll.

The court heard the defence was seeking further particulars from the prosecution and asked for an adjournment of about two months.

The RASQ is charged with “failure to comply with health and safety duty — category 2” while Adrian Strachan is charged with “failure to comply with health and safety duty — category 3” as the charges appeared on the court list.

The charges arise from the death of 18-year-old Joshua William Park-Fing who allegedly died as a result of injuries sustained after falling from the back of a flatbed tractor trailer and striking his head while participating in a Commonwealth Government sponsored Work for the Dole program at the Toowoomba Showgrounds in 2016.

Neither of the accused parties have as yet been required to enter any plea to their respective charge and were not required to be in court for the brief mention of the matter.

Magistrate Carroll acceded to the request for the two-month adjournment and adjourned the case for mention back in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on April 20.