An Austrian man, who was bizarrely slapped with a fine of 500 euros (Rs 44,000) last year, due to farting loudly in the public has now reduced the amount to 100 euros (Rs 8892) after challenging the matter in court. The unidentified man was charged with the fine in Vienna after ‘offending public decency’ by ‘farting provocatively’ at police, reports LadBible. However, following an appeal, the man has to now pay a much lesser amount.
In the court, the man argued against the hefty amount charged from him and said that his flatulence is a ‘biological process’ and claimed that blowing the wind must be deemed rightful under the freedom of expression, even if so done “deliberately”.
The incident followed an encounter with the police, when the unidentified culprit had got up from a bench in a park, looked at the police officers and ‘let go a massive intestinal wind apparently with full intent,’ reports Daily Mail. The police added that the man had behaved ‘provocatively and uncooperatively’ when he was asked to identify himself.
In Austria, freedom of expression can take various forms including, noises and communication and is just not limited to speech alone.
While delivering the matter, the court said the ‘sound or communication must have communicative intent’ which isn’t quite the case here.
However, the court deemed the man’s action ‘ridiculous’ as this mode of communication ‘transcends boundaries of decency’. However, they reduced the fine owing to the ‘average’ culpability of the culprit. It stated that it is his first offence.
This isn’t the first bizarre incident when people have made money out of farts. A couple of weeks back, a 48-year-old woman said she reportedly made $4,200 (Rs 3.05 lakh) per month by selling her fart videos online. Emma Martin, a former travel agent, has been into this bizarre business since 1999 and now she charges $4.99 per month for netizens to watch her pass gas on the internet.
The mother-of-two from Rock Hill, South Carolina, has been ‘flatulence camming’ for more than 20 years now, for which she follows a strict diet specifically designed to help her perform better consisting of salad, asparagus and avocados. Emma told Daily Mail that she eats a lot of Mexican food, and coleslaw with baked beans is her favourite.
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