Man sets farm alight after fight

After an heated argument, a 58-year-old man allegedly set three buildings at a farm in Letzendorf bei Greiz on fire Wednesday night.

Published: 6 March 2008 09:02 CET

On Thursday Police told journalists in Gera that the damage to the buildings will cost some €100,000. The 62-year-old owner of the buildings in the German state of Thuringia suffered minor injuries in the fires.

Police officials who were on duty near the farm smelled the smoke and called the fire department on Wednesday night. When emergency workers arrived on the scene, the homeowner handed the arsonist over to them.

According to the homeowner, the suspect entered the property on Wednesday afternoon, started an escalating fight, then apparently started the fires with a cigarette lighter.

Driver in Bavaria gets €5,000 fine for giving the finger to speed camera

The district court of Passau sentenced the 53-year-old motorist to the fine after he was caught making the rude gesture in the direction of the speedometer last August on the A3 near the Donautal Ost service area, reported German media.

The man was not caught speeding, however. According to traffic police who were in the speed camera vehicle at the time, another driver who had overtaken the 53-year-old was over the speed limit.

When analysing the photo, the officers discovered the slower driver’s middle finger gesture and filed a criminal complaint.

The driver initially filed an objection against a penalty order, and the case dragged on for several months. However, he then accepted the complaint. He was sentenced to 50 ‘unit fines’ of €100 on two counts of insulting behaviour, amounting to €5,000.

In a letter to police, the man said he regretted the incident and apologised.

Police said it was “not a petty offence”, and that the sentence could have been “even more drastic”.

People who give insults while driving can face a prison sentences of up to a year.

“Depending on the nature and manner of the incident or in the case of persons with a previous conviction, even a custodial sentence without parole may be considered for an insult,” police in Passau said.

What does the law say?

Showing the middle finger to another road user in road traffic is an offence in Germany under Section 185 of the Criminal Code (StGB). It’s punishable by a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine.

People can file a complaint if someone shows them the middle finger in road traffic, but it usually only has a chance of success if witnesses can prove that it happened.

As well as the middle finger, it can also be an offence to verbally insult someone.

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