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'Clash of cultures' led to bomb calls
She was raised as a law-abiding Muslim girl in Sydney's multicultural western suburbs.But a "clash of cultures" has been blamed for an otherwise model citizen making a series of bomb threats to a Sydney shopping centre. Ferda Uysalsoy, 24, caused the evacuation of a Myer department store and sparked huge police operations on two occasions. Yesterday, a reason for her costly prank calls was given to a Sydney court. A forbidden romance with a non-Muslim man - and the strict observance of her religion by her devout Muslim mother - led Uysalsoy to suffer a "psychosocial stress" disorder, it was claimed in Ryde Local Court. As the teenage daughter of Turkish immigrants, Uysalsoy was a popular high school prefect, house captain and athletics star. But her unblemished life took an inexplicable turn last October when she made the telephone bomb threats to the Carlingford Court shopping centre, where she worked as a waitress. On October 17, security staff received a phone call from a female who demanded the centre be evacuated. A short time later, a woman phoned back and announced: "You were told to clear it, you've got 20 minutes." Three weeks later, another hoax call was received, with the caller stating: "I don't care any more. This time there will be one (bomb) in the upstairs car park and one in the downstairs car park." Police identified Uysalsoy from security footage, which showed her making the calls from public phones at a nearby shopping complex and the Carlingford railway station. When interviewed, she claimed she made the threats to "get out of work". But during a sentencing hearing yesterday, a deeper cause of her crimes was put forward. Forced to hide her four-year relationship with her non-Muslim boyfriend from her terminally ill mother, Uysalsoy cracked under the pressure. In a tendered report, psychiatrist Russell White said Uysalsoy's behaviour stemmed from her mother being diagnosed with cancer "coupled with having to conceal from her, her love for her non-Muslim boyfriend". Solicitor Jonathon Anton described the cause of his client's crimes as an "unfortunate clash of cultures". Convicting Uysalsoy and placing her on a two-year good behaviour bond, magistrate Joanne Keogh said a message had to be sent to the wider community. Posted by: Oztralian 2006-03-01 |
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