A Frenchwoman who triggered a bomb scare at Geneva airport to exact revenge on her husband's mistress has been handed a bill for nearly $100,000 to compensate police, media reported Friday.
Geneva police have asked the woman to dish out 90,000 Swiss francs ($92,400, 82,300 euros) to foot the bill for all the first responders who rushed to the scene after she made her call on July 26, the Le Matin daily reported.
Geneva police chief Francois Waridel told the paper that the amount would be enough to pay 145 police officers who were called in to respond to the alert at a rate of 100 Swiss francs an hour, and cover their meals, as well as the costs of bringing in two bomb-sniffing dogs.
In all, 880 hours were worked between July 26 and 27 in response to the hoax, the paper reported.
The 41-year-old mother-of-four, whose name has not been given, has already been sentenced in France to six months in prison, of which she will have to serve at least three months over calling in the fake bomb alert.
She made the call just 12 days after the Bastille Day attack in the French city of Nice that killed 86 people, as police in both France and Switzerland remained on high alert.
The woman had initially called Geneva's Cointrin airport to report that her husband had stolen money from her and was planning to fly out the next day for a holiday, with his mistress, Le Matin reported.
When that did not raise the alarm, she called back a few minutes later to say the woman travelling with her husband was carrying a bomb in her luggage.
The second call got the attention of the authorities, prompting a massive security operation, including a full evacuation of the terminal and the re-screening of 13,000 passengers.
The caller was quickly identified, and police showed up at her door in the French town of Annecy.
French prosecutors determined that she acted out of jealousy. AFP
