An Austrian man has been fined €500 ($560) by police who accuse him of deliberately farting in their presence. The Österreich newspaper reported that the incident took place on June 5, in which the man is said to have “rose slightly from the park bench, looked at the officers, and let go a massive intestinal wind apparently with full intent.” Well, I never!
Austrian police defend decision to fine man after ‘provocative’ fart https://t.co/00jjmF4vqY
— The Guardian (@guardian) June 16, 2020
- The man was behaving “provocatively and uncooperatively” before the farting. While it’s unclear why he had an encounter with the police to begin with, what is clear is that it was the intentional farting that led police to hand over the fine for “offending public decency.”
- No, farting isn’t really an offense. In general, the Vienna Police Department said on Twitter that “no one is reported for accidentally letting one go” but since it was clear that the man’s actions were intended to cause offense, he was obviously guilty of the (admittedly minor) crime.
- He could go to jail if he doesn’t pay the fine. The man was given five days to pay up or he could spend up to five days in jail, The Guardian reports. That goes to show you that crime really doesn’t pay, and if the farting man doesn’t cough up the cash, he could be in some seriously hot water.
- Had the man farted at a different officer, things might not have come to this. The Vienna Police Department added on social media that the fine “is imposed individually by the criminal officer for each individual case” and that “as with any administrative announcement, appeals can be lodged and legal remedies can be brought.”
- Hopefully next time he’ll keep his wind to himself. I mean, it’s the polite thing to do and he could have waited until the officers had gone to let one go. Maybe now he’ll learn his lesson.
