By Paul Pickettchief
26 November 2007
TWO Slough women who used false identity documents to work as carers in the UK were jailed and will be deported after serving their sentence. Police raided the home of Beautiful Chimwalila and found a fake letter from the Home Office.
Unfortunately for her flatmate Sarudzai Madho they checked her passport too. The pair were arrested at their home in Moorstown Court, Slough on September 30 and both admitted possession of a false identity document with intent.
The two women, who had been working as care assistants, appeared separately at Reading Crown Court on Friday. Prosecutor Jane Davies told the judge that Chimwalila had presented her employers with a forged letter from the Home office which claimed she had indefinite leave to stay.
However, this was not the case. Miss Davies said: "In relation to her immigrant status, she was an asylum seeker, but that was refused and all lines of appeal had been exhausted." In total, the 46-year-old earned £3,937 while she was working in this country.
Defence barrister Philip Rubery told Judge Bruce McIntyre that his client had done a job that many people in this country would not want - caring for the elderly. Mr Rubery added: "She left Zimbabwe, a troubled country to say the very least. She left because she was receiving threats to her life because of her political affiliations."
Judge McIntyre ordered that she should be jailed for nine months and then deported. Madho appeared before Judge Zoe Smith on the same charge. Prosecutor Hilary Neville told the court that the 39-year-old had also been working for Euro Care Limited as a carer.
Miss Neville said that Madho first came to England as a visitor and was then allowed to stay as a student. She had leave to remain until the beginning of 2007. However, Miss Neville explained: "She then paid £700 to employ the services of someone she thought was a lawyer to secure her stay in the country."
However, Judge Smith jailed her for 12 months and ordered that she then be deported.
IC Berkshire.co.uk.
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