Brazilian
Court Sentences British
Tourists For Forging Luggage Theft
Rio de Janeiro - Two
British tourists were sentenced by a
Brazilian court on Wednesday to eight months
of community service for forging a luggage
theft.
Both aged 23, Shanti Andrews and Rebecca
Turner will have to work seven hours a day
for eight months. They were also demanded to
pay a fine of 12,090 reais (6,535 U.S.
dollars).
The two young women were arrested on July 26
in Rio, after reporting their luggage was
stolen. Their abnormal calmness when
expensive belongings were lost aroused
police suspicion.
The officers then decided to check their
hotel, where they found the reported stolen
objects, including a camera and a cell
phone.
Andrews and Turner stayed in prison for five
days before being granted habeas corpus. The
two claimed that they had a laptop stolen
when traveling from Foz do Iguacu in
Brazil's southern region to Rio. They added
other objects to the stolen-list, expecting
to get the luggage insurance money.
Luggage scam is quite common in Rio's
Tourist Protection District, and the
conviction was a positive step toward
reducing this crime in Brazil, said Police
Chief Fernando Vila Pouca.
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