MONTEGO BAY, St James — A defence attorney’s argument that even good people make mistakes was not enough to keep his 60-year-old client from being slapped with a hefty penalty when she appeared before the St James Parish Court on Wednesday.

Patsy Hoyte was fined $300,000 for presenting false information on her passport application after pleaded guilty to making a false declaration.

According to court documents on February 12, 2003, Hoyte went to the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) and declared on the application form that her name was Sherine Ann-Marie Lindo in order to obtain a passport. She received the document on February 24.

The court was also told that Hoyte was removed from a flight earlier this year, but it was not made clear whether her removal was connected to the fictitious passport.

In his mitigation plea, defence attorney Henry McCurdy pointed out to the judge that his client had never used the passport and emphasised that even good people are prone to making mistakes.

In passing the sentence, Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton ordered the defendant to pay the fine or spend three months in jail.