Coronavirus: Woman accused of 'border fraud' abused on social media
One of the three women accused of lying about going on a trip to Melbourne in order to gain entry to Queensland has revealed the abuse she has received on social media.
Diana Lasu, 21, tested positive for coronavirus along with Olivia Muranga, 19, after returning from Melbourne via Sydney.
A third woman, identified as 21-year-old Haja Timbo, did not test positive but is in quarantine as a precaution, according to news.com.au.
The trio sparked widespread outrage after allegedly lying their way through border checks.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told reporters on Thursday the women “went to extraordinary lengths to be deceitful and deceptive”.
All three women have been charged over the incident.
Ms Lasu took to Instagram on Friday to share a series of explicit messages she received online, the Courier-Mail reported.
The messages, totalling around 20, contained racist and abusive remarks including one that said she “deserved the death penalty”.
Earlier on Friday, Commissioner Carroll condemned any abuse aimed at the three women online.
“We have seen community members making comments about certain cultural groups and ethnicities,” she said.
“This is not productive at all.
“People doing the wrong thing come from all walks of life, backgrounds and community groups. So it is important, especially in these times, that community groups actually come together rather than fracture.”
‘She’s not an animal’: Mother
Lasu’s mother, Aida, who is currently in hotel quarantine with her family as a direct result of her daughter’s actions, responded publicly to the backlash.
"Imagine if you have something like that, you don't have any support and people treat you like a serious criminal," she told the ABC.
"Nobody wants to give you support. She's very sad. She is my daughter. She's not an animal."
Muranga’s brother Eddie also criticised the response to the women’s actions, insisting it was simply “a mistake”.
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“It’s not something that we sat down and thought about yeah, it’s a f***ing mistake,” he told Channel Nine’s A Current Affair.
They each face up to five years’ jail or fines of more than $13,000.
The trio are due to face court on September 28.
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