Singer Lidia Buble has been definitively sentenced to one year of probation for bribing two police officers
Komadi.org Web administrator by Komadi.orgSinger Lidia Buble has been definitively sentenced to one year of probation on Friday for bribing two traffic police officers to avoid an alcohol breathalyzer test. She is also required to perform community service for 90 days.
The Bucharest Court of Appeals decided to uphold the punishment imposed on the singer by the Bucharest Tribunal in 2022 and rejected the prosecutors’ appeal against that verdict, according to Agerpres.
Lidia Buble received a one-year prison sentence for committing the offense of bribery, but the magistrates ordered the suspension of the sentence under supervision, with a probation period of 2 years.
During this time, Lidia Buble must perform unpaid community service at the Municipal Employment Agency or the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Social Protection Sector 1 Bucharest for a period of 90 days.
In the same case, one of the police officers who received a bribe from the singer was sentenced to 3 years of probation and was prohibited from occupying the position of a police officer for one year. Additionally, the sum of 450 lei, representing the bribe received from Lidia Buble, was confiscated from him.
For two other defendants – a female police officer and a friend of Lidia Buble – the court decided to separate the case and judge them separately.
View this post on Instagram
Lidia Buble was accidentally recorded talking about bribery
DIICOT prosecutors accidentally caught Lidia Buble bribing the two traffic police officers. She sought advice over the phone from a friend regarding the amount she should give to the police officers, but her friend was under investigation for drug trafficking, with his phone under surveillance.
On the night of February 15, 2021, Lidia Buble got behind the wheel and went to a gas station near her home to buy a bottle of water. After leaving the gas station, she was stopped by a police patrol (a man and a woman) who requested her documents and a self-declaration, given the state of alert due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At that moment, Lidia Buble was talking on the phone with her friend, asking for advice on how to negotiate with the police officers, knowing that she had consumed alcohol before getting into the car, specifically a glass of champagne.
“The defendant admitted the commission of the act from the moment of her hearing as a suspect. She confirmed that, on February 15, 2021, around 03:00, she was stopped in traffic by a police patrol composed of a man and a woman. She was coming out of a MOL gas station near her building, and before that, she had consumed a glass of champagne. She stated that she was stopped at the traffic light, immediately after leaving the gas station, turning right, about 50 meters away. The police officer, who was about 30 years old, knocked on her window, asking her to hand over the documents for inspection, as well as the self-declaration, given the pandemic and restrictions. She did not have the self-declaration on her, nor the driving license, and at that time, she was talking on the phone, on speaker, with an acquaintance,” according to court documents.
The young police officer told the singer that he had to fine her with the amount of 3,500 lei, but then suggested that they could reach an “understanding.”
Lidia Buble told prosecutors that she was “afraid” and accepted the officer’s suggestion, but she had no money with her. They agreed that the two officers would follow her with the police car to her home to get the necessary money.
Lidia Buble: “I’ve never bribed police officers in my life. This is the first time, literally”
On the way, she called her friend again, and he gave her advice on how to negotiate with the police officers. Lidia Buble also suggests that the officer made advances towards her. Details can be found in the case intercepts:
“Lidia Buble: Hey, you won’t believe it if I tell you! Lord, what an idiot! So, pay attention! Lord save us! Besides the fact that… No, he’s coming after me to my house, to get my card, to give him money, can you believe it!
Man: What’s his name?
Lidia Buble: I don’t know his name, but he had a vibe, literally… So… this one, I think… I don’t know what he expected… like… he… Lord… (laughs unintelligibly) I never had something like this happen. Literally, so he approached me in that rude way, saying: “What should we do, miss…?”. “Give me a fine, what should you do?” (…) “Well… you know that between two thousand five hundred and I don’t know how much… the fine…” I say: “OK. Give me a fine! I was dying of thirst, what else could I do? Give me a fine!” (…) Well, I don’t know what to do because no, I wouldn’t give you a fine, maybe we… uhh… calculate differently.”
Lidia Buble: And I say: “Aaa! Well, say like this! What do you want, money? Come after me to my house, what should I do? I have nothing with me! I took money to buy water, I didn’t take money to…”. And he comes, man, after me… (laughs) Lord… I cross myself, I can’t believe it! Yes, I’m going to get my card… I don’t even know, how much money do I give? I’ve never bribed police officers in my life. This is the first time, literally, he’s a… (expletive) of 27 years, 28 years, I don’t know how old he is, up to 30 at most, not older than 30.
Man: Yes, yes, yes. Uhhh… give him five hundred lei.
Lidia Buble: Wow! But by the way, you know what… you know why I was afraid? Because he got out of the car, Lord, only God knows… I don’t know how I took him, I rambled him, he got out with the flask, I was afraid he’d put it on me… Yes, yes, yes! I know… I was on WhatsApp with you at that moment and I was writing to you, then I was deleting it, you know? Because you… that’s what I wanted to tell you!
Man: Hey, tell him that… yes, you’re friends with…, don’t put the flask in your hand! So, no matter what you do, don’t blow into the flask! Because once you blow into the flask, that’s recorded, and it’s very complicated to… resolve.
Lidia Buble: I took him with… I took him with charm, I say: “Don’t you see that I have three bottles of water next to me? I was dying of thirst at home, I couldn’t take it anymore! (laughs). “Well, I believe you, but what should we do? Because you don’t have the documents, because you don’t have…”… I didn’t take anything with me, I didn’t take my license, nothing! And I opened the bottle of water and started drinking like crazy. I say: mom, if this guy… I took a piece of gum too (laughs).”
Lidia Buble was driven to the ATM by the police
According to court documents, Lidia Buble then arrived in front of the building where she lived and went up to her apartment, and during this time, the police officers waited in the police car parked in front of the building. Then, the singer came down from the apartment with her bank card and informed them that she did not have enough cash, needing to go to an ATM to withdraw money.
As the police officers were in a hurry, Lidia Buble was taken with the police car to an ATM, where she withdrew the sum of 900 lei. The car is driven by the policewoman, while the younger officer waits for them in front of the building. The singer returns to the car, where the policewoman asks her not to hand over the money directly but to place it in the cup holder.
Finally, after they returned in front of the building, Lidia Buble exchanged phone numbers with the police officer, and he told her that in similar situations, if she needed help again, she could call him, and things would be sorted out.
During the hearings, the police officer admitted his guilt, receiving a suspended sentence.
Lidia Buble also received leniency from the magistrates, being sentenced to one year of probation. She did not contest the decision of the first instance.
but it’s the way things work in Romania, you have to have a guy for everything…