Police: 5th case of Halloween candy tampering reported

Be careful with those leftover Halloween treats.

A week after the holiday, police are investigating a new report of a needle hidden inside a candy bar. Honolulu police say it is the fifth case of candy tampering reported, but the first in Waimanalo.

Thomas Na-o Jr. said his eight-year-old daughter found the needle when she opened a Snickers "fun size" candy bar Friday night.

Na-o Jr. said he called police immediately to file a report.

The Na-o family said they went trick-or-treating about a mile away from where they live.

Thomas Na-o Jr. said he and his children went to every house in the neighborhood around Inoaole Street, but he said they don't know which house the tampered candy came from.

On Friday night, "my daughter asked for a candy and I told her go ahead, and she went out and grabbed the candy, opened up the Snickers, and her mom taught her to break it in half to check it, and she found a needle and she came told me," he said.

He said he and his wife have been paying very close attention to recent news of needles in Halloween candy, but they never thought it would happen to them.

Police are also looking into false reports of Halloween candy tampering in Hawaii and they are taking those just as serious.

But Na-o Jr. believes this is nothing to joke about, especially when children's safety is at risk.

"This is the second year I went to the same spot so I'm kind of tripping out about it," he said.

Na-o Jr. said he checked the wrappers right after the holiday to make sure there were no obvious signs of tampering. But said his eight-year-old daughter did the right thing by breaking it apart. He hopes other parents and kids do the same thing.

"Just gotta be safe. It's better safe than sorry. I mean, if she wasn't safe, I would be sorry right now."

Na-o Jr. said although it's been a week since Halloween, he wants to remind everyone to not let their guards down.

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