A 65-year-old woman from Bonheiden (Antwerp Province) has been interned after harassing a neighbour keen to perform Hindu rituals in her garden.
The Hindu rituals in the neighbour’s garden involved flowers, rice and incense and were staged on a regular basis. Unfortunately, this was not to the liking of the 65-year-old who started to pester her neighbour. She shouted at her neighbour and chucked fruit, dog mess, pots, bricks and even a shopping cart into her neighbour’s garden.
When the neighbour decided to erect an artificial hedge, the contractor was forced to stop work due to harassment. The woman made holes in the hedge using sticks and spears.
Mediation by a community police officer failed. The Hindu neighbour then decided to file a complaint. In court the 65-year-old denied all harassment. No actual punishment was meted out on account of the pestering because the Hindu rituals violated local bylaws.
Because of the disruption the 65-year-old caused in court, the judge did order she be subjected to a psychiatric examination. The woman has now been interned on the basis of the result of this examination.
The Hindu lady was awarded compensation of 15,000 euros to pay for the damage to the hedge and for CCTV cameras.