Gelephu dungkhag court on June 8 sentenced a 23-year old man to five years and two months imprisonment for repeated impersonating.

According to the verdict, Jigme Thinley, who is from Lauri, Samdrupjongkhar, impersonated as a Reporter from Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) and lured a woman, a kidney patient in Gelephu on January 28 this year. He met her when she was returning home from the hospital.

The court sentenced him for committing a third degree felony, which is five years of imprisonment, since he had committed similar crimes earlier.

According to the court’s records, the accused was earlier sentenced twice, once in 2013 for a similar crime and given a yearlong prison term. In 2014, he was again sentenced for repeating the crime.

The verdict stated that because he has repeated similar crimes for the third time, his sentence was increased.

He was also handed another two more months imprisonment for petty misdemeanor for stealing the woman’s gold ring and cash.

Though the woman couldn’t be present during the hearings, her son in person reported to the court later, that his late mother’s gold ring was returned while she was alive. The brother of the accused has agreed to repay the money.

The accused had followed her until her home and made acquaintance with her. He later asked her to not wear the gold ring, as it might cause cancer to her. Believing the man, the woman had removed the ring and kept in her handbag with Nu 2,000.

A day later he also agreed to donate blood to the woman and helped her get medicine from the bordering town Dadgari. After he returned, he took the gold ring and cash when the woman was outside her house. He sold the ring to a gold smith in the town.

The verdict also stated that the man’s intention to help her with blood donation and buying medicines were his plans to steal the ring and cash.

On interrogation, the man confessed to the crime. He was arrested on February 13 and had remained in detention.

Tashi Tenzin

Advertisement