28/7 Tass 347
MINSK, July 28 (Itar-Tass) — A malefactor who made false telephone warnings to the police about bombs ostensibly planted inside railway station buildings in Minsk and the western town of Molodechno has been detained by operatives of the Belarussian transport police, the chief press officer of the Interior Department for Transport, Alexander Marchenko told Itar-Tass.
“The malefactor is a 27-year-old resident of Molodechno, who decided to make a nasty joke when the was drinking in a company of friends,” he said.
At the time of reporting, the Interior officials were considering a criminal case against the man citing an article of the Criminal Code that stipulates punishment for purported reporting on a fictitious danger.
If found guilty under this article, the man may face a jail term of up to five years.
“Apart from the purely criminal responsibility, the malefactor will also have compensate for the losses running into many thousands of U.S. dollars that emerged because of a forced suspension of operations of the station compounds in both Minsk and Molodechno and the huge amount of work done by security services during the search for bombs.
The young man’s malicious joke compelled the authorities to evacuate all the passengers from the stations in Minsk and Molodechno.