Man pricked by syringe hidden in hollow fence post near downtown Victoria

Victoria police are urging the public not to stick their hands into places they haven't checked after a man was allegedly pricked by a syringe in a hollow fence post on Friday.

Bowen Osoko of the Victoria Police Department says the victim, whose name has not been released, may have been acting absent-mindedly when he stuck his hand inside the hollow post.

Osoko says the syringe was resting on top of other materials, which he says are now part of their investigation, inside the post near the downtown intersection of Yates and Douglas streets.

In January, a child was pricked with a syringe in a McDonald's restaurant not far from where the victim was poked on Friday, an area which Osoko says has several addiction and homeless service providers nearby.

Osoko says in that case, police believe the syringe was improperly disposed of following an emergency insulin injection.

He says this is the fourth or fifth syringe-related incident Victoria police have dealt with in the past several months but could not say if investigators believe there is a specific offender involved or a string of purposeful prickings.