AMHERST, N.S. – Following the receipt of a mysterious package from Hong Kong at the Amherst Justice Centre (AJC), the courthouse shut down its front service counter on the afternoon of May 4. The package was delivered to the front office shortly after 1:00 p.m. that day, according to a press release from the Nova Scotia government’s Department of Justice. Following the delivery, four AJC staff members suffered nausea, dizzy feelings and burning sensations in their throats and were sent to the hospital for examination, the release noted. The Amherst Police have seized the package and are investigating the incident, and the AJC sent all nonessential staff home for the day. The front counter was cleaned thoroughly in the evening. The Department of Justice said that the courthouse would decide on May 5 whether to reopen the front office to the public. The following day, the government said that similar packages had been sent from Asia to four more provincial courthouses, the Truro Supreme Court, Kentville Justice Centre, Bridgewater Justice Centre and the Halifax Law Courts. All four were evacuated, and police are investigating.