A businessman in the United Kingdom (UK), Peter Etherington, who was said to be in an induced coma, has been ordered to be arrested after a court was told there was no evidence he was in hospital and that he had been seen shopping in Tesco.
The 68-year-old was due to appear before Bradford Magistrates’ Court on Friday over a charge brought by the Insolvency Service but failed to attend. An email, said to be from his daughter, claimed he was in hospital in an induced coma.
Etherington, of Belle Vue, Ilkley, is charged with being involved in the running of PP Global Media Ltd while banned from acting as a company director under an existing court order.
Mrs Clegg, prosecuting on behalf of the Insolvency Service, told the court his absence was “not unexpected”.
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According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, she said: “On December 15 we emailed him to remind him of today’s hearing.
“We received a response purporting to be from his daughter claiming he was in hospital in an induced coma.
“We asked for medical evidence, but no evidence has been provided.”
Clegg said Etherington had continued to engage online despite the claim he was in hospital. She said: “He signed papers the day we got the email. There were also updates on his Facebook page on December 21 and 22.
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“There is also information to suggest he has been seen in Tesco.”
The hearing was the second listing of the case. It had originally been scheduled for 24 October, when Etherington claimed he was due to undergo surgery.
Clegg said: “Although there were some concerns about this letter and the form it took, we were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
She added that checks were made with several local hospitals, including St James and Leeds General Infirmary, but there was no record of Etherington being a recent in-patient.
The prosecution asked the court to issue a warrant for his arrest, noting that the charge could carry a prison sentence.
Magistrates said there was nothing to support the claim that Etherington was in an induced coma and issued a warrant for his arrest. The charge relates to a period between April 2019 and October 2022.
Credit: BBC
