A 23-YEAR-old Finnish tourist jailed for five months after she admitted handling a stolen handbag in a Dublin pub has walked free from the Fours Court after the State conceded that her detention was unlawful.
At the High Court Mr Justice Peter Charleton ordered the release of Rikka Hella after being informed that the State was not contesting her application for an inquiry, pursuant to Article 40.4 into the lawfulness of her detention.
The offence occurred in the early hours of Saturday, September 5th last, at Fitzsimons Bar, Temple Bar, in Dublin city centre.
The court heard that Hella and another person were found going through the contents of a stolen handbag in the toilets of the bar. All the contents of the bag were recovered. After pleading guilty to the offence, the District Court judge imposed a fine of €1,000 on Hella, who has no previous convictions either in Ireland or in Finland, in lieu of five months’ detention. The fine was to be payable forthwith.
When her solicitor asked the judge for time to pay the fine, the judge refused. Hella only had €35 on her, and her solicitor asked if she could be allowed to return to her hotel room to get more money.
In the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Charleton, in ordering Hella’s release, said a person can only be sentenced to a period in custody if a fine is not paid. The judge added that “it was normal” that somebody “should be given time to pay a fine”, especially in the case of a foreigner who had no friends or family in Ireland.