The former mayor of Tivat, Siniša Kusovac (DPS), only paid the fine he was sentenced to in the second half of October for escaping the mandatory self-isolation imposed on him at the beginning of July because he was in contact with a person who was confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus. .
Although he was sentenced to a fine on July 31, and it became final on August 13, Kusovac did not end up in prison in the meantime, despite the fact that he paid the fine more than a month after the deadline for paying it expired.
Last weekend, he submitted to "Vijesti" a photo of the payment slip confirming that he paid the sentence to which he was sentenced on October 19.
Three days earlier, Kusovac was relieved of his duties as the president of the municipality of Tivat by the new parliamentary majority, which after the local elections held in Tivat on August 30, consists of a coalition of civic lists Narod pojejevaje, Bokeški forum and "Goran Božović - honorable and responsible for a better Tivat", with the parliamentary support of the SDP -a.
On July 4, in Donji Grblje, in the hinterland of Žukovica beach, Kusovac was caught in violation of the mandatory self-isolation measure imposed on him earlier.
On that day, as it later emerged from the NKT's views, he misled the public by making untrue statements about the location where, by the decision of the health and sanitary inspector, a mandatory measure of self-isolation was determined, as well as the circumstances under which he violated the issued order and left self-isolation on his own initiative. driving a municipal official car on the first day of the weekend, to a secluded beach in Donji Grblje.
Because of this, the police forcibly detained Kusovac in the evening hours of the same day in Igalo.
The police filed a criminal complaint against the then mayor of Tivat to the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kotor for violating orders to prevent a dangerous infectious disease.
Kusovac spent several days in quarantine in Igalo and eventually tested negative for corona.
The ODT in Kotor confirmed to the "News" that the Prosecutor's Office, based on the report submitted by the Tivat police, filed an indictment against Kusovac "for committing the criminal offense of failure to comply with health regulations for the prevention of a dangerous infectious disease."
"In the proceedings before the court, the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to a fine in the amount of 1.500 euros, which the defendant is obliged to pay for the benefit of the budget of Montenegro," the spokeswoman of ODT Kotor, state prosecutor Ana Marinović, told "Vijesta".
However, the ODT did not answer the question about whether they know if and when Kusovac paid the fine.
The spokesman of the Basic Court in Kotor, judge Špiro Pavićević, confirmed to "Vijesta" that the proceedings against the former mayor of Tivat were legally concluded in mid-August.
The Montenegrin Government, the NKT, the Prosecutor's Office and the police regularly informed the public in previous months about the numerous reports and punishments they imposed on citizens for violating the NKT's measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but the information about the sanctioning of a public official - the former president of the Municipality of Tivat, who happened right before the local elections in that city, remained hidden from the public.
"We inform you that the defendant KS, due to the criminal offense of non-compliance with the health regulations for the prevention of dangerous infectious diseases from Art. 287 of the Criminal Code, by the judgment of this court post no. no. K. 220/20 of 31.07.2020. year, which became legally binding on August 13.08.2020, 1.500. year, was sentenced to a fine in the amount of 25 euros, with the obligation to pay the same amount within one month from the finality of the verdict, and in case of non-payment, the replacement will be carried out in such a way that for every 19.10.2020 euros fine, one day of imprisonment will be determined . The said fine was paid by the convicted KS on XNUMX. year", it is stated in the reply to "Vijesta" by the spokesperson of the Basic Court in Kotor, judge Špir Pavićević.
According to that, Kusovac was supposed to end up in prison on September 14, the day after the deadline for paying the sentence he was sentenced to and which he had not yet paid, and thus, at the value of a prison day converted into money, spend in Spuž two months.
However, this did not happen, and Kusovac, who in the meantime did not resign from the post of mayor either because of his status as a legally established criminal, or because of the lost elections, had to be dismissed by the new parliamentary majority at the session of the Tivat City Council on October 16.
Lawyers consulted by "Vijesti" agree that by not sending Kusovč to prison the day after the deadline for paying the fine to which he was sentenced, the Basic Court in Kotor broke the law.
According to the procedure, the Criminal Registry of that court had to note the fact that Kusovac had not paid the fine the day after the deadline for paying the fine and to inform the acting judge, who had to issue a decision on the arrest of the then Tivat mayor and his sentencing to serve the sentence on the same day imprisonment for 60 days.
By the way, Judge Branko Vučković has been at the head of the Basic Court in Kotor since 1986, to whom the Judicial Council confirmed the eighth presidential mandate a few days ago, in a repeated procedure after the ruling of the Administrative Court.
Recently, the Administrative Court, acting on the complaint of Judge Predrag Krstonijevic, who was Vučković's opponent in the competition for the election of the President of the Court in Kotor in 2019, annulled the decision of the Judicial Council on the election of Vučković due to lack of explanation, emphasizing the legal prohibition of electing the same person more than twice on the position of president of the same court.
The Judicial Council, however, announced a few days ago that it re-elected Vučković "after removing the deficiencies in the explanation of the previous decision" pointed out by the Administrative Court.
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