Sentences are piling up for conspirator François Amalega Bitondo, who received two more today, even though he swears that he will never pay his fines.
“Paying is not an option… Jail would be ideal, otherwise I could do compensatory work if it is to teach children at school. For that, I would volunteer, ”said the anti-mask to the Newspaper, today in front of the Montreal courthouse.
Amalega, 43, wanted to ‘challenge’ two $1,500 fines for breaking curfew in January 2021. Except as he refuses to wear the face covering and doesn’t have a medical condition , he could not enter the building.
Not cooperative
“The court has already proceeded with defendants via the Teams platform, explained in the room the justice of the peace Pierre-David Cyr. He knows he can ask for such an appearance, but he preferred to refuse to come. »
The trial therefore took place without the conspirator, but with a police officer who testified about the arrest of Amalega Bitondo, on January 9, 2021, during a demonstration against the curfew which came into effect that evening. .
“He wasn’t cooperative, he didn’t want to identify himself, he lay down on the ground,” the officer explained.
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The chain
The 12-minute hearing ended with the conspirator being ordered to pay the $1,000 fine, plus costs of approximately $500. A few hours later, he was sentenced again, this time for breaking the curfew on January 17, 2021.
Since the start of the pandemic, Amalega has racked up more than $60,000 in traffic tickets. His challenges have all failed, so much so that he has been sentenced to eight for non-compliance with the Public Health Act.
And if he still hasn’t paid anything, the repercussions are coming because in one of the files, he exceeded the 90-day deadline to get out his checkbook.
It was a ticket for not respecting the curfew, but, in particular, it was Amalega Bitondo who had himself gone to the police station to ask to be imprisoned. Instead, the police fined him.
“The defendant then agreed to walk home,” the court document states.
If Amalega Bitondo persists in refusing to pay, the collector of fines could give her the chance to “turn around”. He could also ask to do compensatory work or, as a last resort, go to prison.