Perth toddler picked up syringe at bus stop and put it in his mouth
A Perth mum was left horrified after she caught her 19-month-old son with a syringe in his mouth.
Francie Jones was at a Port Kennedy bus stop with her toddler Kai Rigby when he picked the syringe up off the ground.
On Thursday the Secret Harbour toddler and his mum were at the bus stop on their way home from swimming lessons when Kai picked something up off the ground and put it in his mouth.
"I just grabbed it and threw it… and yeah it was a syringe," Ms Jones told 7 News.
"I was mortified and I'm pretty angry."
Ms Jones said had she not been watching her son closely it could have been even worse.
"A split second later and he would've been sucking on it. So I dread to think what he could've got from it."
While the syringe was only in Kai's mouth for a couple of seconds, Ms Jones said doctors still want Kai tested for a number of diseases including Hepatitis B.
Ms Jones does not know if the syringe was left behind by a diabetic or a drug user but said she will no longer let Kai walk around in public without shoes.
Australian Medical Association president Dr Michael Gannon said there is "no excuse for those needles not to be disposed of safely".
"There are all sorts of mechanisms available so people should do that," he said.
Kai's mother pleaded with anyone using a syringe to be "respectful of others, it could be very dangerous for a little baby, for anyone".
