What is the responsibility for giving false testimony and fictitious denunciation of a crime

A person who has reached the age of 16 and is fully aware that his or her words differ from reality may be criminally liable for knowingly giving false testimony and knowingly false reporting of a crime. This was told to the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti” by the representative of the Investigative Committee for Minsk Inna Matuyzo and gave specific examples.

The photo is illustrative, created by AI

A company of young people in a Mercedes-Benz car was involved in an accident in the center of the capital. The accident occurred about 20:00 on March 27 this year at the crossroads of Masherov and Winners. The driver of a foreign car did not cope with the management and collided with a regular bus. As a result of the impact, a 17-year-old passenger of the passenger car was taken to the hospital for examination, and the second passenger, despite a serious injury, left the scene before the arrival of traffic police officers and turned to doctors only after a while.

The culprit of the accident, fearing responsibility, immediately after the incident persuaded an 18-year-old friend, a resident of Smolevich, to lie to law enforcement officers, as if his partner was driving a Mercedes at the time of the collision. The girl agreed to help. During interrogations as a witness, she was warned each time under her signature about criminal liability for knowingly giving false testimony, but she still lied to the investigator three times about the circumstances of the accident.

In addition, the girl gave a receipt of non-disclosure of information of the preliminary investigation. Ignoring the law, she discussed the progress of the investigation with a friend and in her work chat.

The deception was revealed a month later. The victim in the accident, the guy demanded from the culprit of the accident monetary compensation for moral damage, but received a categorical refusal. Then the young man made a statement to the police and revealed the real picture of the incident, which was fully confirmed by eyewitnesses.

According to the conclusion of the forensic expert, the injury received by the victim in an accident belongs to the category of serious bodily injuries on the basis of danger to life.

In relation to the 18-year-old chef-barista, previously had no problems with the law, opened a criminal case under two articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. At the hearing, the defendant fully admitted his guilt and repented of what he had done. The court found her guilty of committing crimes under Part 1 of Art. 401 (“knowingly false testimony”) and Art. 407 (“Disclosure of the data of the inquiry, preliminary investigation or closed court hearing”) of the Criminal Code. She was fined 40 basic units (1,800 BYN) as punishment.

Photo is illustrative, Depositphotos

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Another example of what the attempt to deceive law enforcement agencies leads to is the story of a 22-year-old unemployed Minsk citizen. In March of this year, the young man appealed to the Pervomaysk police department with a statement: allegedly unknown, threatening him and his family with reprisals, forced him to issue bank loans and microloans totaling 30,000 BYN. According to the applicant, the attackers ordered to hide all the money in a cache on the street. Romanovskaya Sloboda. Accepting the application, the police signed a warning to the citizen about the responsibility for knowingly false denunciation, but he continued to insist on his version.

During the operational-search activities, the police established that the applicant had not transferred any funds to anyone, and he and his relatives had not been threatened. It turned out that the young man was seriously interested in gambling in online casinos and it was for this purpose that he made out debt obligations in financial institutions.

When the mother found out about his son’s colossal debts to the banks, she became persistently interested in where the funds went. To justify himself to his parents, the Minsk man invented a story about extortionists. Trusting her son, the woman insisted on immediate appeal to law enforcement agencies.

A knowingly false denunciation is an intentional oral or written report to law enforcement and investigative bodies knowingly false information about an alleged crime.

After the fraud was revealed, a criminal case was opened against the young man. At the hearing, the defendant fully admitted his guilt and repented of what he had done. The court found him guilty on the basis of Part 2 of Article 400 of the Criminal Code and imposed a punishment of two years of restriction of freedom without sending him to an open-type correctional institution.

The photo is illustrative, created by AI

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Before the trial and criminal prosecution of the 47-year-old resident of the capital brought an attempt to hide traces of domestic crime. According to the materials of the case, the man during a quarrel with a cohabitant received from her two stabs in the arm. The woman openly threatened him with murder. A criminal case was opened against the Minsk woman under Article 186 of the Criminal Code (“Threat of murder, causing serious bodily harm or destruction of property”), and her partner was recognized as a victim.

However, at the court hearing, being under the signature of a warning of criminal liability, he unexpectedly changed the initial testimony. In an effort to save the lady of the heart from the colony, he began to claim that he caused himself injuries, accidentally falling on the broken glass. This version was completely refuted by the collected evidence and forensic examination. The court found the defendant guilty under Part 1 of Article 401 of the Criminal Code and imposed a fine of 70 basic values (3,150 BYN). In addition, the Minsk man was obliged to undergo compulsory treatment for chronic alcoholism.

Competent commentary

- For giving knowingly false testimony or false denunciation of a crime, criminal liability is provided, Inna Matuyzo, a representative of the department of the Investigative Committee for Minsk, said. As punishment, the law provides for a fine, arrest, restriction or imprisonment. It is important to remember that only witnesses or victims are responsible for misleading the investigation. This rule does not apply to suspects and accused.

In accordance with the current legislation, a citizen has the right not to testify against himself, his family members or close relatives.

A person who has reached the age of 16 and is fully aware that his or her words differ from reality may be criminally liable for knowingly giving false testimony and knowingly false reporting of a crime. The defendants of such cases are guided by various motives: from the desire for revenge to an attempt to hide events out of fear. One way or another, deception is always revealed, and an attempt to mislead the investigation has to be answered to the fullest extent of the law.