Severe punishment promised for those responsible for anthrax "joke"

In the wake of the anthrax scare in the US, 11 people, including policemen and employees of a TV station, have been taken to hospital in Gdansk after coming into contact with white powder contained in suspicious postal packages. The white powder, found in letters sent to two addresses in Gdansk, is currently undergoing laboratory examination. The results will not be known for another three or four days. In a statement, the police said, "We will have no problem finding anyone who wants to cause countrywide panic as a joke." Commenting on the affair, deputy Interior Minster Jozef Ploskonka said that no alarm would go unchecked, and severe legal and financial penalties would be imposed on those who perpetrated such jokes. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 4; Rzeczpospolita, p. A1) M.T.K.