Eliza Rivers, 22, and mother of two children was suffering from severe depression when she made two calls to the First Caribbean Bank in George Town, Grand Cayman, two years ago in March 2010.

The first call was to inform the bank that there was a bomb in all of their branches and they had one hour to evacuate. Rivers second call, made 10 minutes later, said the staff should take the threat seriously and only gave the staff 30 minutes to leave.

All the banks branches were evacuated but searches found nothing and the staff were allowed back.

The RCIPS had little difficulty from discovering whom the person making the hoax calls was, as Rivers had used her own telephone. When the police arrive at her door the same evening, they discovered Rivers was in hospital receiving treatment for suicidal tendencies and chronic depression.

The police still questioned her and she admitted the offense. She was subsequently but not immediately charged.

At Cayman’s Grand Court earlier this week, Justice Alex Henderson, heard the case that had been delayed on a number of occasions because of difficulties with psychiatric reports.

The defendant’s attorney, John Furnis, explained that Rivers was in an abusive relationship and her boyfriend was threatening her to take money from her account at the bank and let him have it. She had made the calls in order to try and create a diversion thus preventing her from going there and taking the money out.

The relationship with her boyfriend had ended, she had taken up with someone new and it was stable. Rivers had received treatment for her condition, was recovering well and had a job.

The court was also told she was rated as having an extremely low level risk of re-offending and the probation service made strong recommendations for a non-custodial sentence.

After taking all the facts into consideration the judge ordered two years probation with a 6pm until 6am curfew and warned the defendant not to break the conditions.