WILLEMSTAD - A corrupt police officer received an additional punishment on appeal yesterday. The senior officer had initially been sentenced to a 30-day suspended sentence, with a probation period of 2 years, and 120 hours of community service. The new ruling adds a three-year prohibition from working for the government. According to the judge, the officer tried to borrow money that had been seized during an investigation, thereby abusing his position.
The senior officer had met the victim in a restaurant and asked if he could borrow 15,000 guilders of the seized money. The money had been stolen by an employee of the victim’s employer. Mercilia was the investigator of the case and was responsible for the seized money. Although the officer claimed that he wanted to borrow the money in a private capacity from the involved employer, the court did not accept this. The court determined that he simply abused his position, thereby damaging the image of the Curaçao Police Corps.