This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8210807.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 3 | Version 4 |
---|---|
Community work for fraud Britons | Community work for fraud Britons |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Two British law graduates who admitted an attempted insurance fraud in Brazil have been sentenced to community service and fined. | |
Rebecca Turner, of Berks, and Shanti Andrews, of Sussex, told a court they were robbed but exaggerated the theft. | |
They told police that goods worth £1,000 were stolen from them during a bus journey in Brazil. | |
The women, both 23, may have to stay in Brazil for at least eight months, unless an appeal succeeds. | |
I think the appeal will have a great chance of success Britons' defence lawyer | |
The BBC's Gary Duffy in Rio de Janeiro said the two women listened anxiously as the sentence was read to them via a translator, explaining that a 14-month jail term had been converted to community service and a fine reported to total $6,400 (£3,900). | |
Our correspondent said they showed "a mixture of relief and dismay - relief that they wouldn't go to prison, but dismay that they will have to stay and probably launch an appeal". | Our correspondent said they showed "a mixture of relief and dismay - relief that they wouldn't go to prison, but dismay that they will have to stay and probably launch an appeal". |
The women's lawyer told BBC News: "I prepared them for a prison sentence, I prepared them for the worst, so I think they are relieved." | The women's lawyer told BBC News: "I prepared them for a prison sentence, I prepared them for the worst, so I think they are relieved." |
A jail term could have been from one to five years. The judge said he had treated the women no differently from Brazilian defendants and that the sentence would serve as a warning to others considering the same insurance scam. | |
Our correspondent said the women had already spent several days in an overcrowded jail in Rio de Janeiro - an experience they would be very relieved not to have to repeat. | Our correspondent said the women had already spent several days in an overcrowded jail in Rio de Janeiro - an experience they would be very relieved not to have to repeat. |
'Completely wrong' | |
Their lawyer said an appeal - to convert the sentence to a larger fine or allow them to serve the punishment in the UK - was likely to start as soon as next week. | |
"I think the sentence is completely wrong. So I think the appeal will have a great chance of success and the sentence will be modified," he said. | "I think the sentence is completely wrong. So I think the appeal will have a great chance of success and the sentence will be modified," he said. |
He added that he may try to apply to the judge for the women to return to England before their appeal is decided. | He added that he may try to apply to the judge for the women to return to England before their appeal is decided. |
Miss Turner, from Woolton Hill near Newbury, and Miss Andrews of Frant near Tunbridge Wells, were due to return to England after a nine-month trip around the world. | Miss Turner, from Woolton Hill near Newbury, and Miss Andrews of Frant near Tunbridge Wells, were due to return to England after a nine-month trip around the world. |
However they were arrested after officers from a specialist tourist support unit apparently became suspicious that they had waited several days before reporting the theft. | However they were arrested after officers from a specialist tourist support unit apparently became suspicious that they had waited several days before reporting the theft. |
Police allegedly uncovered some of the items reported stolen in their Rio hostel room. | Police allegedly uncovered some of the items reported stolen in their Rio hostel room. |
Miss Andrews and Miss Turner were on bail until their trial. | Miss Andrews and Miss Turner were on bail until their trial. |