Will mentally unstable corrupt customs officers avoid prison sentences?

At least 15 custom officers from Skierniewice in central Poland are suspected of having received bribes totalling zl. 2.79 million. Eleven of them were detained yesterday by officers from the Internal Security Agency (ABW). Between March to September 2001, they forged custom documents for goods imported from Taiwan, Indonesia, China, Vietnam. An organized criminal group smuggled clothes, shoes, umbrellas and hair dryers into Poland. "Customs officers received between zl. 3,000 to zl. 4,000 in bribes for each container of goods," said ABW Lodz spokesman Wojciech Baralski. Officers divided the bribes among themselves according to their hierarchy, with most going to those who issued the custom clearance stamps. If found guilty, the customs officers may be sentenced up to 10 years imprisonment. To avoid this, some have begun to claim mental health problems and are seeking psychiatric treatment. The State Treasury lost over zl. 8 million in duties during the six months the crimes were committed. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A5) M.T.