A man in Vienna who was previously fined €500 (£425) for farting in front of police officers in the city, has had his fined reduced to €100 (£85) after he challenged the fine.
The man was previously fined in June of last year as his loud breaking of wind was seen as ‘offending public decency’. The man was fined, but challenged the fine by claiming that his farting was in fact just a biological function. The man even went as far as to claim that his farting could be seen as an act of expression.
I mean, I think verbal communication would have sufficed.
However, despite this the judge still branded the defendant’s actions as ridiculous, but did reduce the fine, seen as this had been the man’s first offence, and after all, breaking wind is a bodily function. The court decided that if the fart was to be a form of communication, then it would be required to have some form of ‘communicative content’, which they decided that a bodily response, such as farting, is unable to have.
The man may have had his fine reduced, but police have defended their issuing of their fine, stating, “Our colleagues don’t like to be farted at so much.” To be honest, that seems fair enough.
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