2023-08-24 15:23:00
Danny Samyn (61), sentenced in 2019 to 28 years in prison and ten years on appeal for the murder of doctor Patrik Roelandt from Izegem, refuses the inheritance of his recently deceased mother. If he had accepted it, he would have gone to the relatives of his victim.
The judge had awarded damages to Patrik’s mother, his wife and their two daughters. A total of 275,000 euros. Samyn hasn’t paid anything so far. The inheritance is substantial and the killer was to receive a quarter of it, which he might have used to pay part of the compensation. But, following his refusal, everything goes back to his children. The lawyer wrote to them but they let it be known that they had done nothing wrong to the doctor and therefore should not compensate.
Doctor Roelandt’s family has started proceedings in the civil court accusing the man of fraudulently organizing his insolvency. The case will be heard next year.
This is by no means the first time a criminal has attempted to evade huge compensation in this way. “For the families who must be compensated and who learn that there has been a refused inheritance, it is amenable to civil proceedings”, explains criminal lawyer Pierre Chomé.
Pierre Chomé ©Belga (archive)
“For example, I had a fraud file, I was defending the victim. The crook is disinherited, everything went to the two brothers. The Ministry of Finance picked up the case went to civil. He won his case, the man was sentenced for organized insolvency, therefore fraudulent. An individual might just as easily win the case, but many are unaware of it. In general, families who feel that they will receive nothing or very little or who want to avoid the cumbersomeness of a procedure, turn instead to the State Compensation Fund. But it is capped at 125,000 euros. In many cases, these are peanuts. For example, I had a file concerning a girl killed by a bullet in the head. The author was to indemnify there up to eight million. “
On the other hand, for a murderer, showing goodwill can be beneficial: “A client condemned to the assizes saved everything he earned through his work in the prison canteen and, in a few months, he had already been able to donate 600 euros to the family. Thanks to this, his sentence was reduced by five years.”
Compensation for victims is one of the conditions for early release. What we see most often is that small sums are suddenly deposited as soon as a date is in sight when the convict might be released early. Then, for example, fifty euros are paid monthly, as a sign of compensation. Insignificant sums compared to the total sum. “We are overwhelmed with cases where the convicts are limited to paying like 25 euros per month”, confirms Pierre Chomé.
“We only learned by chance that Samym had refused this inheritance”, commented to the Nieuwsblad the lawyer Kristiaan Vandenbussche of the next of kin. The lawyer pleads for the public authorities to inform the victims in such cases…
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