Top cop Shane Patton orders review into ‘slug gate’ investigation

A health officer claims a council was intent on destroying a Dandenong South food company, which collapsed after it was allegedly sabotaged with a garden slug.

A police briefing found a health officer’s statement indicated her workplace wanted to ruin the iCook food company.

The statement, by City of Greater Dandenong health inspector Kim Rogerson, is noted in a detective’s assessment of allegations that a slug was allegedly planted at iCook in 2019, wrecking the business and costing 41 jobs.

Sergeant Ash Penry of Dandenong CIU wrote to his district command last year outlining that he believed corruption and malice were factors in what happened to iCook.

“The statement provided by former employee Rogerson depicts a workplace intent on destroying iCook Foods,” the Penry briefing said.

In the statement, seen by the Herald Sun, Ms Rogerson makes a series of grave allegations about the iCook matter.

Among them was a claim more senior council figures tried to force her to alter her statement for a brief-of-evidence against Dandenong South-based iCook.

Michael Cook’s photograph shows some tissue near the slug but images later produced by Garlick do not. Picture: Supplied

She ended up off work on sick leave.

“The real stress caused to me was the pressure … to alter my statement and fabricate details of my statement to strengthen their prosecution case,” Ms Rogerson wrote.

“I will not be bullied into telling lies for anyone. I have always conducted my duties with the utmost fairness and impartiality.”

Ms Rogerson’s statement was made to former Victoria Police detective Paul Brady, who has put together a 16-folder brief of evidence on behalf of iCook.

The Herald Sun revealed two weeks ago that police had closed the iCook case and no charges would be laid.

But police chief Shane Patton last night ordered a review into the investigation of allegations public officials sabotaged the business.

Mr Patton’s shock intervention has come after Ian Cook — whose company iCook was wrecked by a council inspector’s alleged planting of a garden slug — urged the chief commissioner to step in when the case was closed two weeks ago.

The Herald Sun can also reveal an initial police assessment found corruption and malice were factors in what happened to iCook.

Ian Cook (centre), with retired Detective Sergeant Paul Brady (left) and retired Detective Inspector Rod Porter (right), with the mountain of evidence submitted to Victoria Police. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Sgt Penry, who investigated allegations the slug found at iCook Foods in Dandenong South was planted, wrote that the shutdown order was unlawful and caused destruction of food worth $700,000.

Sergeant Penry was assigned the case in December, 2019 and reached his conclusion a month later

“In January, 2020, it became evident to me that a level of corruption, misuse of office and a malicious prosecution was involved in this matter,” he said.

The Victoria Police briefing note was sent to local district command with a recommendation the matter be further investigated. But it was revealed this month that no one was questioned over what were high-level allegations, which the Penry report said included corruption, abuse of public office, conspiracy, attempts to pervert the course of justice and malicious prosecution.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton was listed as a “person of interest’’ in Sergeant Penry’s briefing note. Prof Sutton was among six public officials named in the iCook inquiry note, which said a probe should be held into the circumstances of the firm’s shutdown and whether it was the target of a “malicious prosecution’’.

No charges were brought against any official and there is no evidence Professor Sutton had knowledge of the alleged iCook sting.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

The company, which supplied councils, hospitals and nursing homes, was ordered to close by Prof Sutton after being found responsible for an 86-year-old woman contracting listeria in January, 2019, causing her death a month later. The listeria was later found to have been in smallgoods outsourced by iCook.

Police found that the laboratory results of the listeria contamination, which linked it to iCook, were withheld from the company until its contracts became “null and void’’.

The Penry report said laboratory testing found there was no listeria at iCook, but those results did not surface until after iCook had been publicly linked to the fatality, costing it big contracts.

Mr Patton has appointed a senior officer to review the case and this will be overseen by an assistant commissioner.

Mr Cook was on Thursday buoyed by the review decision.

Originally published as Top cop Shane Patton orders review into ‘slug gate’ investigation