POLITICIAN SENT TO PRISON FOR BRIBING VOTERS WITH FRIED CHICKEN

Romanian Member of Parliament, Florin Popescu, has been handed a two-year jail term for attempting to win another term as a council leader in 2012 by handing out 60 tonnes of fried chicken to voters.

The disgraced politician, known in the country as the “Chicken Baron” enlisted volunteers to help him distribute the chicken.

Investigators from the country's anti-corruption unit found that he had secured £85000 worth of the delicacy from a producer in what amounted to an abuse of office.

They said: “On April 5, 2012 several people sent by Florin Popescu loaded the fried chicken into vans and took it to various locations where it was distributed.

“All the packages of chicken were distributed for election purposes.”

The sentence is without a possibility of parole and the court rejected an appeal on the case which was revealed after the chicken producer reported the politician to the authorities.

After resigning his seat last month amid the scandal Mr Popescu said: “Politics is a sweet rose but it can sometimes have a bitter taste.”