CRIME or NOT - Spitting/Contaminating a person's Food

It'd be an intresting case to see what would happen if someone who had unknowingly contracted HIV intentionally spat into someone's food and then spread the HIV to the other person.

...Other then that though, spitting shouldn't be a punishable offense unless you do it with the intetion of harming someone physically (i.e you know you have a serious disease and you're trying to spread it). You actually brought it best when you said how is putting cyanide on food different from putting spit...spit is mostly harmless. Yes, there are diseases that can be contracted through saliva...but those are mostly the same diseases that you could get just by breathing the same air in. There's no way people should get jailtime for spitting in food, unless you propose that America goes batshi* Singapore crazy and start punishing people for putting gum on the sidewalk.

 

Obviously, if you intentionally inflict harm on someone by contaminating their food in any way, it is a serious crime. Not only cyanide or HIV, urine and other filth would be included.

 

sorry, but no. and spitting in food won't transmit HIV unless you like, filled up a bucket with your spit and soaked their food in it.

while they should get fired for it, jail time is too harsh. i can see an argument for it being "assault" but that's like trying to get someone arrested for breathing smoke in your face.

 

If spitting was done surreptitiously, so they accidentally ate it, then you probably just fire them.

Urine, hair et al have inherent health risks; in addition to genuine emotional distress.

Cyanide could very likely kill the person if they eat it, so it's at least attempted murder. Saliva will not.

AIDS infected spit has never transmitted HIV, but the resulting emotional distress is probably somewhat severe; so I would make it a low class felony or Class A misdemeanor. Placement of AIDS-infected blood and other infected bodily fluids should be charged on a scale ranging from attempted murder down to reckless endangerment, with a lesser charge based on the infection rate of each specific fluid.

 

aids probably no but tb is back on the rise in the developed world. then there's hep and meningococcal.

 

If spitting in someone's food was a crime then 90% of the fast food work force would be behind bars.

 

I watched this just last night.....funny.

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ITT: a subtle attempt to give criminal histories to lower-middle-class teenagers and illegal immigrants. sorry, but i don't buy it.

 

on a tangent to this thread... you know how in fight club when he pees/jerks off in everyones food at that restaurant and then goes to the manager says he will go public with his actions unless the restaurant continues to pay him his usual wage + tips to stay at home

would that work in real life? it seems like it probably would.. easy retirement plan right there

 

At a standalone restaurant with no money or brand loyalty, maybe. But a corporate chain could probably afford to lose the night of business, or even the indvidual franchise; and still make your life a living hell, professionally and legally.

 

Guy spit on a police officer the other day. Guy knew he had AIDS.

Got 35 years for Agg. Asslt on a public servant.

True story.

 

I don't think it is.

Although I am a licensed peace officer, I don't know what I would charge someone with that spit in someone's food.

I guess assault. Probably more than class C assault.

 

Here's an article about a guy facing jail time for putting hair in a customer's dish:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25291195/