Haifa man bugs out at coworkers

Igor Aberbach, 41, from the Haifa area was sentenced to 15 months in jail on Sunday for spraying insecticide on his coworkers’ cups and the company’s milk carton.

Aberbach was convicted of using a dangerous poison, with the judges noting that the outcome could have been much worse.

According to the verdict, several times in the course of June 2011 Aberbach entered the office kitchenette and used a potent bug spray on the cups and mugs of his coworkers, and sometimes on the milk carton as well.

The investigation that led to the man’s arrest was launched after office workers repeatedly complained of headaches and a strange taste in their throats, usually shortly after they had finished their coffee break.

Throughout the trial the defendant said he had not intended to hurt his coworkers, but the judges wrote he “had a problem providing an explanation to his actions, besides an urge to exterminate ants.”

The defendant acted with anger and did not “feel sympathy for his coworkers or employers,” the judges wrote, noting that “his actions stopped only after a security camera was installed in the office” which filmed his actions.

The case against Aberbach started over a year ago, but the verdict was given only after a psychiatric examination showed that the defendant was aware of his actions and could be held accountable for them.