At 5:45 a.m., the young Algerian was picked up at Winterthur train station. He had two cell phones and almost a dozen pairs of sunglasses in his luggage. It is not clear why the asylum seeker was checked on this autumn morning last year.
Found, not stolen
What is clear, however, is that the young man seemed suspicious to the police. The reason for this is not clear from the penal order, which ZüriToday was able to see. He stated that he found the two mobile phones. When asked where and when, he replied that he found them the day before on the train from St. Gallen to Winterthur. The 24-year-old Algerian was unable to provide any information about where he found the many sunglasses. The man therefore spent two days in police custody. He was then able to return to Altstätten, where he lives in an asylum accommodation.
Lost property not handed in
The suspicion is that the asylum seeker stole the items. However, it could not be proven that he had stolen the mobile phones from someone else or had stolen them in one of the numerous car break-ins in recent months. He was therefore convicted of “failing to report a found item”.
800 francs fine
The Winterthur Unterland public prosecutor’s office sentenced the asylum seeker to a fine of 800 francs. He does not have to pay 200 francs of this, as this has already been paid off by the time he spent in police custody. This leaves 600 francs, but there is also the 400 francs procedural fee charged by the public prosecutor’s office. The penalty order is legally binding.
