UPDATE: What NOT to do in Brazil
August 20, 2009 No CommentsSORRY, SORRY, SORRY ….
Ok first I want to say .. it was not my intention to skip the last week with no posts ! But, really I have a valid excuse. First, NO internet. And that is crucial for posting new content ! Apparently my daughter thought the cable looked like lunch. Second, my poor cat Billie Jean got attacked by a Rottweiler and I have been busy nursing her back to health. Which I am happy to report, she is doing much better. I wrote a wonderful post last friday, **pats self on back** to introduce “Food Friday” but then came home to find out that my daughter chomped the cable. So now you will have to wait until tomorrow for “Food Friday” .. I know you can’t wait, right ?!?!
So I wanted to post an update about a previous post that I had wrote about two girls from the UK, that were arrested for fraud in Rio. This is the an article I found on the sentencing.
The two British backpackers that were arrested in Rio de Janeiro for falsely claiming their valuables had been stolen were yesterday sentenced to 16 months jail time.
The judge however has converted their prison sentence to community serve and has ordered the girls to do seven hours a day work for the next eight months as punishment for the attempted fraud.
Shanti Andrews and Rebecca Turner both 23-years-old, were said to be relieved not to go back to a jail like the one they served six days in after their arrest. Both described that experience as the worst in their life.
Andrews and Turner are expected to appeal their conviction while staying in a flat they have rented for the time they are now spending in Rio. Their lawyer has said that he will try and get the harsh sentence overturned or carried to the UKwhere they could do the community service.
The two law students were on the last part of their round the world trip when they contacted police in Rio to say they had been robbed on a bus of items to the value of £1,000. Police became suspicious when they learned the girls had waited a few days before reporting the crime. They then searched the hostel where the two were staying and found the missing items.
source: theguardian.co.uk
So they have gotten off the hook this time. I hope they have learned their lesson, that not everything goes in a country like Brazil. Well maybe they can now view it as a lesson learned, and a journey to continue learning. Maybe after all this, they will go home with new insights, the ability to speak Portuguese and new love for the country that I call home !
What do you think about the sentencing ?
What NOT to do in Brazil