Bulgaria's Parliament passed on October 18 at the first reading the draft bill of the law on European emergency number 112, which envisions a maximum fine of 20 000 leva for misuse of the emergency line.

The highest sanction would be imposed in cases when, as a result of the hoax phone call for help, the local offices for emergency reaction will have sent people out. In the milder cases, fines would range between 2000 and 5000 leva, Bulgarian-language daily Dnevnik reported. The fine would be doubled for a repeat violation, according to the bill.

The approval of the draft comes less than a month after two teenage girls from the town of Byala have set something of a record by, in just three months, making about 3000 hoax phone calls to ambulance, fire brigade and police emergency numbers.

Questioned by police, the girls explained that they had been "having fun". The police said that the two teenagers could not be arrested for the offence because they were under age. Among the false reports made by the two have been murders, accidents, thefts and of a woman being in labour.

According to a report of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), medical personnel regularly have refused to respond to emergency calls from the girls' neighbourhood because they did not know whether to believe pleas for help.