The disgruntled pupil who was suspected of leaving a home made nail bomb in the toilet of an Upper Hutt school has been let off because of lack of evidence to link him to the crime, presumably leaving him free to do the same again.

According to a report by Stuff.co.nz

Pupils and teachers were evacuated from a school building while a military bomb disposal team secured the area.

Police interviewed a disgruntled year 13 pupil, who it is thought had been asked to leave school on the day of the incident.

The site reported that Heretaunga College principal Bruce Hart said the boy had not returned to school, saying he thought there was no risk of another incident. The student had been asked to leave on the day the bomb was planted.

In an earlier report, Stuff said

The mother of a Heretaunga College pupil said the year 13 boy had taken a “flame thrower” to school in the morning.

“Earlier he was out with a Lynx [aerosol deodorant] can and a lighter.”

That incident had apparently led to him being asked to leave school, she said.

It’s thought he later returned to the school and planted the bomb in the toilet.

Acting school principal Kiri Gill was “incredibly grateful” the bomb had not been detonated and praised students and teachers for their calm response.

Why was the student not charged you ask? Because it looks as if his finger prints could not be found on the device, no mention about whether or not the police searched his home to look for bomb making materials, or if they looked at his computer to see if he’d been searching for instructions on the internet. Instead, the whole incident seems to have been quietly swept under the carpet and one has to question why?.

At the very least an example should’ve been made of this teenager, if for no other reason than to counteract the message that in New Zealand you can get off a bomb charge if you wipe your prints from the device. Given the recent events in the States we can appreciate why New Zealand is keen to uphold its safe image, particularly with the lucrative international education market, but letting alleged bombers go free is not the way to do it. Neither does it preserve the safety of the public, nor or does it act as a deterrent to other malcontents.

According to Education Wellington, the school`s doors are always open to international students

Heretaunga College in north Wellington provides the courses and subjects found in every high quality co-educational secondary school in New Zealand. Our International programme is customised to meet the interests and aspirations of each individual student, who are welcome to enroll at any time of the year. In addition, we have several unique programmes.

And, after all, New Zealand is such a great place to raise kids. Isn`t it?