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Business & Money

Swede's stolen car hit with parking ticket

Published: 7 Dec 12 10:39 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/44910/20121207/

A man in northern Sweden whose car was stolen was stunned to find his car again a short distance away - with a parking ticket attached to the window.

Pontus Persson, a chef in Östersund, northern Sweden, was about to drive to work early on Tuesday morning when he realized his car was not in its usual spot.

In fact, it was about ten metres away, next to a tree at the edge of the forest.

Perplexed, Persson investigated the matter and found smashed windows, an empty place where his GPS used to be, and a broken steering column.

“I understood immediately that the car thieves had tried to steal the car but hadn't pulled it off,” he told the Länstidningen newspaper.

Persson called the police and left his car where it was, hoping not to destroy any potential evidence.

However, the surprises were not over for the carless chef.

When he ventured out to check up on the car the next day, he found inspectors had slapped a 600 kronor ($91) parking ticket on the window as the car was incorrectly parked.

“I don’t know if I should laugh or cry,” Persson told the paper.

While Persson explains that the police still haven not returned his calls about the theft, he says it is unlikely he will cough up the 600 kronor.

“Not a chance! I have never heard of anyone getting a fine in this parking place. It was typical of the parking authorities to show up right after my car was moved by thieves,” he said.

TT/The Local/og
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12:30 December 7, 2012 by Viking1
Surely this could only happen to a foreigner but not a Swede surely. Don't pay the fine! Good to see the police are fully active on the case :-)
19:53 December 7, 2012 by james7
@Viking !, If you do not pay the fine, you are only asking for trouble. The same thing happened to me in the US and I tried to not pay the fine The police arrested me and threw me in jail. It cost me thousands of dollars in attorney's fees. I guess Sweden is not corrupt like the US.
03:29 December 8, 2012 by SecondGen
@James7

Sorry to burst your bubble but you weren't thrown in jail for not paying a parking ticket ( you had to do something). Here in Chicago, IL, USA people rack up $1000's in unpaid fines. The best the city can do is boot and then confiscate the car and sell it if you don't ransom it back. That would be the same for you too! That's what the 'Denver boot' is for, they find people with large unpaid ticket balances and immobilize the car until they pay. Having your car booted is not the same as being put in jail.

If you don't pay your tolls on the tollway (state agency), they'll refuse to renew your license plates and drivers license. Eventually your plate will expire and then you might get caught for driving without valid plates or license, and you might get locked up then (because you can't surrender a expired license for bond). Either way once you make bail and go for your hearing, you aren't going back to jail. Jails are too overcrowded with the drug and killing crowds.

As to this story, it's very common for stolen cars to be found with tickets on them. You go to court with a copy of the police report indicating the car was stolen and the dismiss the complaint. You can't call the police and get them to dismiss it because they are not the judge. Police did their job, the court has to do it's job.
04:57 December 11, 2012 by babychuma
yeah but in Chicago they'll slap a ticket on your car if it's parked legally too.
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