Dutch tourist jailed in Myanmar for pulling plug on Buddhist sermon
Thursday, 09 Oct, 2016
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A Dutch tourist has been sentenced to three months in prison for literally pulling the plug on a late night Buddhist sermon.
Klaas Haijtema, 30, was convicted of causing a disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship after he unplugged an amplifier blasting out the sermon at the Thusarita Dhammayone religious community hall near his hotel.
"I was really tired that night and woke up to the noise," Haijtema told a court hearing last week.
"I was very angry and assumed that children were playing music. I told them to lower the volume of the loudspeakers before I unplugged the amplifier, and they didn’t understand me. That’s why I unplugged it."
He was also fined the equivalent of $80.
He had originally been charged with the more serious offence of causing religious insult, but that charge was dropped,
Haijtema’s legal counsel said he may appeal the sentence.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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