Australian DJs could face prosecution for royal hoax
UK: British prosecutors will decide whether to pursue charges against
two Australian DJs, police said Saturday, after a nurse who took a hoax
call to a hospital treating Prince William’s pregnant wife Kate
apparently killed herself.
Scotland Yard said officers had this week sent a file to the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS) over the prank earlier this month by
presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian, from Sydney’s 2Day FM radio
station. Indian-born nurse Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found hanged in
her lodgings near King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London, where
Catherine was being treated for acute morning sickness, on December 7.
“Following the death of Jacintha Saldanha, officers have liaised with
the CPS as to whether any criminal offences had been committed in
relation to the hoax call made to King Edward VII’s Hospital in the
early hours of Tuesday, 4 December,” Scotland Yard said in a statement.
It said officers submitted a file to the CPS on Wednesday for it to
consider whether any potential offences may have been committed by
making the hoax call.
British media said no announcement had been made until Saturday
because police wanted to be sure they had contacted all the relevant
family members of Saldanha.
In England and Wales, the CPS is responsible for deciding whether
charges will proceed in criminal cases, while police are responsible for
investigating and collecting evidence.
British detectives told the inquest they would be asking their
counterparts in the Australian state of New South Wales to help them
carry out interviews.
AFP |