A court in Chikwawa has ordered three men to pay a total of K1.8 million for chewing K2000 banknotes.
The three were in July this year captured on a video chewing the bank notes and the Chikwawa First Grade Magistrate’s court handed out its ruling on the case on Thursday.
The convicts have been identified as Rodrick Bwanali, 21, and Dan Soza, 33, all from Robert village, and 23-year-old Willy Paimva, from Goma village, all under Traditional Authority Ngabu in Chikwawa district.
In July, the three were seen in a video clip chewing banknotes and pasting them to beer bottles.
Despite the existence of the video, the three pleaded not guilty to the charge of unlawful damaging of bank notes contrary to Section 54 (2) (c)(ii) of the Reserve Bank Act of 2018
According to Chikwawa Police Publicist, Dickson Matemba, the state paraded two witnesses who testified against the three men and the video was also played in court.
After the men were found guilty, First Grade Magistrate Gladstone Chilundu ordered them to pay a fine of K500,000 each or in default to serve 18 months imprisonment with hard labour.
Magistrate Chilundu further ordered the three convicts to pay K100,000 each for costs of the case to the state per Section 142 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code.
Matemba said the three men have since paid the fine and the costs for the case.
According to the Reserve Bank of Malawi, it spends K12 billion per annum to replace damaged notes.
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