Woman given probation for making false report

 

Reports submitted to court showed probation was the best punishment for the defendant

A 54-year-old Filipina resident got off lightly for reporting a crime to the police that never happened.

After a stern warning from the magistrate that the penalty prescribed for the offence she committed was too light, Soledad Solomon was sentenced to a probation order on Thursday, Jan. 18.

DITO ANG DETALYE

Solomon, a saleslady, pleaded guilty at Eastern Court earlier to making a false report of  a commission of an offence on Dec. 13, 2022.

She went to the Wanchai Police Station on Arsenal Street to report to Detective Police Constable Tony Chan that someone had entered their house in Moreton Terrace, Causeway Bay, and stole her bag containing $35,000 worth of foreign currency and $2,000 in Hong Kong bills.

TAWAG NA!

She also told the police investigator that her son recovered the bag later from a garbage bin, but without the contents.

But when investigators checked the CCTV on the lobby of a building in Happy Valley where their flat was located, the video footage showed only her and her son leaving and entering the flat the whole night.

After Solomon admitted the offence, Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui said the false report caused the police to waste so much time and resources that would have been spent more productively in fighting crime.

PINDUTIN

The magistrate said the offence was so serious that the penalty prescribed by the law was “not strong enough” to prevent similar offences being committed in future.

So instead of imposing a fine as suggested by the defense lawyer, Magistrate Chui ordered reports done on Solomon by a probationary officer and a community service officer to determine the more appropriate punishment for her.

Solomon’s lawyer said she had a clear record, was remorseful and was supported by her husband who even wrote a letter addressed to the court seeking a lenient sentence.

PADALA NA!

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