Pensioner faces $665 fine after being accused of taking crystal from Queensland national park

A pensioner who is being treated for cancer is facing a $665 fine from Queensland Parks and Wildlife after being accused of taking a crystal from a national park in Far North Queensland.

Harry Ward, an avid bushwalker, said he had not yet entered the national park area when he found the crystal near a creek at Oak Beach, north of Cairns.

The 66-year-old, who has prostate cancer, said he posted about his find on a bushwalking social media site and also mentioned he had taken a walk through the Macalister Range National Park.

The Cairns resident said he was more than a little taken aback to receive a knock on his caravan door from two Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers two weeks later, when he was issued with a notice stating…