Odesa resident fined twice as much for bribe he offered to patrol policeman

The Kyiv District Court of Odesa found the man guilty of attempting to bribe a patrol policeman and fined him UAH 25,500.

As stated in the court' s verdict, the attempted bribery took place in the spring of 2023.

The police stopped a Lexus ES 350 driven by the convict and found that he showed signs of alcohol intoxication, including impaired coordination and speech. So they offered him to take a test for alcohol intoxication - he refused, and then the police decided to draw up a report against him.

The driver, in turn, offered the patrol policeman 200 euros, which at the exchange rate of the National Bank of Ukraine as of August 20, 2023, was equal to 7,830 hryvnias. The policemen refused, and the man increased his offer to 325 euros, which was 12,723 hryvnias at the NBU exchange rate at the time. The police refused and called an investigative team to the scene.

At the trial, the driver pleaded guilty to the criminal offense in full, did not dispute the factual circumstances set forth in the indictment and provided the following testimony - he was indeed driving the car under the circumstances set forth in the indictment. After the police stopped the car, he did offer them 200 euros, as he did not want to undergo a test for intoxication and did not agree with the actions of the police. He sincerely repented of his actions and asked not to be punished severely.

The court took into account the driver's repentance and limited the penalty to a fine, although the article under which the man was tried provides not only for it, but also for restriction of liberty for a term of two to four years, or imprisonment for the same term.

The judges also did not take into account the prosecution's allegation that the convict was intoxicated during the commission of the charged act, as set out in the indictment, which he denied during the trial, because the fact of being intoxicated was not documented.

Кирило Бойко