A resident of the city of Ivanovo in central Russia was slapped with a fine for drinking in public – which, according to police, happened after she died.
Police drew up a report about the alleged wrongdoing in July, and she was given a fine of 300 rubles ($10) in August, regional prosecutors said in a statement on Friday, the first time the story was made public.
However, a prosecutor check later established that the woman named in the police report – whose name was withheld – was dead as of July and thus could not have been drinking in public or private.
The real culprit was some other woman whose identity police failed to establish, blaming the wrongdoing on a random citizen instead, the statement said. Prosecutors requested to have the officers responsible for the mishap punished, but no sanctions were reported as of Friday.