BRITISH MAN FINED 10 MILLION EUROS FOR STARTING FIRE IN THE SIERRA NEVADA

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_29573.shtml
The man started a fire after getting lost in the parK


A British man who caused a fire in the Sierra Nevada Nature Park on September 22 2005, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined 10.6 million €.

The Penal Court 4 in Granada also found 65 year old Michael R.H. guilty of the crime of reckless fire starting and handed down another 1,800 € fine.

Michelle M.N.S. a French woman who was with the Briton at the time of the incident was found not guilty.

The judge explained the ten million € fine corresponds to the concept of compensation in civil responsibility, and that the Briton has to make the payment to the Andalucía regional government.

The court heard how Michael and Michelle, who were spending their holidays in the Granada village of Acequias, had gone for a walk with the intention of reaching Lanjarón. As dusk fell they thought they were lost and made a call to the emergency number 112. They found a ruin, and ‘with the intention of being seen’ Michael lit a fire using tree branches and dry leaves which he put inside a circle of stones.

Michelle supplied the matches even though Michael was judged not to have properly cleared the area to stop the propagation of the fire. As soon as it was lit it was clear the fire was out of control, and the couple made another call to 112 to say they could not put out the blaze.

The couple where found at 10,30pm that night, but work to extinguish the fire took eight days and covered an area of 3,354 hectares of farming and forestry land, 2,102 of which was inside the Sierra Nevada National Park.

The British man can make an appeal which will be heard by the Granada Provincial Court

How would he pay that kind of money?

I have no idea fred, but I am glad I am not in his shoes. Very often here we see that people convicted of crimes are ordered to pay large sums of money to the victims. I have no idea at all how they do this.