MEMBERS of the Polish community are demanding that a benefits cheat be sent back to Poland – for giving them a bad name in Derry.
Remigiusz Sadawa (40), of York Street, Derry claimed Jobseekers Allowance and Housing Benefit totalling £22,806 while failing to declare employment.
He is also required to repay any outstanding money wrongfully obtained to the Social Security Agency.
A judge at Derry Crown Court last week ordered him to serve 200 hours community service.
Now the Polish community in Derry say they want Sadawa sent home for giving them a bad name.
“We are Polish and feel deeply ashamed by what he did,” said one of a large number of Poles who contacted Derry Daily.
Another Polish man who knows Sadawa told us: “I have been living in Derry for more than six years and in that time I have never claimed any benefit.
“Because of what Remigiusz Sadawa did, we are unwanted here, many people will see it not as one person doing it but a whole nation stealing their money.
“There is an anti-immigrant feeling now in some quarters and it is so unfair.”
One Polish man who knows Sadawa well said: “If he doesn’t pay back the money he may go to jail but we all believe he should be expelled from Derry and sent back to Poland.
“People like him make our lives more difficult when we are here to work hard and contribute to life in Derry.”
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