B.C. insurance fraud suspect fails to destroy record of his confession

After admitting to lying to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) on tape about an insurance claim, an Abbotsford man grabbed the tape recorder with the recorded confession and ran.
ICBC Special Investigation Unit officers followed the man and found him a few blocks away, smashing the recorder onto the pavement. Although the machine was smashed to pieces, the part housing the actual recording remained intact, according to the ICBC.
The evidence was presented to Crown counsel and the man was subsequently charged with providing a willfully false statement to ICBC and a mischief charge filed by the local police department.
Ravinder Sran loaned his motorcycle to a friend in July of 2007. The driver lost control of the bike and crashed. Given the extensive damage to the bike, Sran abandoned it and reported it stolen, according to ICBC.
Two months later, when the bike was discovered, Sran admitted he falsified the theft claim, ICBC reports.
“ICBC takes all allegations of fraud very seriously and responds accordingly by working with the appropriate agencies,” Steve Tripp, manager of ICBC’s Special Investigation Unit, said in a release. “In this case, we’re particularly proud of our officers for their extraordinary efforts in apprehending the suspect and preserving the evidence that he tried to destroy.”
The accused plead guilty to the Sec. 42.1 offence and mischief charge under the Insurance Vehicle Act. He was fined Cdn$2,000 and ordered to pay Cdn$3,069 in restitution on the ICBC charge. He was additionally sentenced to six months probation and 15 hours of community service for the mischief charge.