Post by Jaga on Feb 7, 2010 20:43:20 GMT -7
Warsaw, Poland 7 February, 2010 - A Polish farmer copped a 500PLN fine for swearing in a public place while on his way home at midnight.
Ryszard Kilanowski was walking along a country road when he was followed by a car for about 1km.
Suspicious of the stalking vehicle, he called his sister, Lucyna Kasperek, who lived nearby.
“He called that some car was following him the whole time and, well, I thought maybe, someone was going to… wanted to bash him,” Ms Kasperek said.
It turns out that the strange car was not full of bad guys, but good guys.
But Mr Kilanowski soon found out it was he who was the bad guy.
“I walk up to the window and he says to me, “you have a fine for swearing,” and I said, “dude, as if anyone swore”,” Mr Kilanowski said.
The farmer said he couldn’t recall swearing and has no idea when the police might have heard him.
But police said swearing publically is a crime in Poland.
“Article 141 of the petty offences code,” Police spokesperson Marek Rydzewski said.
The article states, „whoever in a public place uses indecent language is subject to punishment”.
And a public place is any place “where an unlimited number of people have access,” Mr Rydzewski said.
Even if that public place is a village road, in the middle of the night, with only field and trees and maybe a couple of houses within a kilometer radius.
www.masterpage.com.pl/outlook/201002/swearing-in-poland.html
Ryszard Kilanowski was walking along a country road when he was followed by a car for about 1km.
Suspicious of the stalking vehicle, he called his sister, Lucyna Kasperek, who lived nearby.
“He called that some car was following him the whole time and, well, I thought maybe, someone was going to… wanted to bash him,” Ms Kasperek said.
It turns out that the strange car was not full of bad guys, but good guys.
But Mr Kilanowski soon found out it was he who was the bad guy.
“I walk up to the window and he says to me, “you have a fine for swearing,” and I said, “dude, as if anyone swore”,” Mr Kilanowski said.
The farmer said he couldn’t recall swearing and has no idea when the police might have heard him.
But police said swearing publically is a crime in Poland.
“Article 141 of the petty offences code,” Police spokesperson Marek Rydzewski said.
The article states, „whoever in a public place uses indecent language is subject to punishment”.
And a public place is any place “where an unlimited number of people have access,” Mr Rydzewski said.
Even if that public place is a village road, in the middle of the night, with only field and trees and maybe a couple of houses within a kilometer radius.
www.masterpage.com.pl/outlook/201002/swearing-in-poland.html