7 mei 2024 om 18:37 Update: 5 uur geleden
Two men aged 21 and 23 have been sentenced to 90 days in prison and 180 hours of community service by the court in Alkmaar. The two were convicted of assaulting a conductor at Schagen station in September last year.
The men from Heiloo and Anna Paulowna were sentenced to a total of 93 days in prison: 90 days of which were conditional.
It concerns an assault on September 13 last year. The duo were on the train to Alkmaar and attacked a conductor at Schagen station. He wanted to check whether they were in possession of a ticket. When he confronted them, things quickly escalated. The men kicked, punched, bit him and stabbed him in the hand with a screwdriver. Train passengers who came to the man’s aid were also hit.
The perpetrators fled the scene, but were arrested in Schagen shortly after the incident.
The Public Prosecution Service demanded six months in prison, three of which were conditional
Two weeks ago, the Public Prosecution Service demanded six months’ imprisonment for the men, half of which was conditional. The public prosecutor then extensively discussed the increasing violence against public transport employees. “How long must the staff on the train tolerate this behavior? How long must we tolerate this as a society?” she said.
She also referred to the action at the end of April. Then all buses, trains, trams and metros stopped for three minutes in protest against aggression against public transport staff. A week earlier, an NS conductor and driver were assaulted on a train.
Lower penalty due to national punishment for public violence
The court called the assault “completely unacceptable” behavior. The judge also blamed the men heavily for causing feelings of fear and insecurity among train passengers. But partly based on the national penalty for public violence, the court imposed a lower sentence than demanded.
As a result of the ruling, the two will not have to go back to jail. They have already spent the three days they have to serve in pre-trial detention. The court linked their suspended sentences to a probationary period of two years. If the men cross the line again during that period, they will still have to go to jail for three months.
In addition, the two must pay 2,500 euros in damages to the conductor involved. The NS employee was sick at home for 202 days after the assault. It was the first time in his 25-year career that he was confronted with violence. In addition to the physical injuries caused by nerve damage in his hand, he suffered from serious psychological complaints. He has been back to work since April 1.
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