Vienna man fights 500-euro fine for farting next to police

Justice

A young man, who was fined 500 euros ($560) for passing wind near police officers in Vienna, announced on Thursday that he would appeal.According to the penalty notice, the 22-year-old was punished for “violating decency and creating noise’’.

“Blowing off is a biological process.

“I didn’t do it on purpose,’’ he told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

As student and jobber, it would take him months to come up with the money, he said.

The Vienna Police department defended the fart fine in a burst of tweets.

While the Police do not fine accidental flatulence, the young man “slightly rose from a park bench, looked the officers in the eye and released massive bowel gas in their immediate vicinity, apparently on purpose,’’ the department wrote. (dpa/NAN)