The criminal court in the Limburg town of Tongeren has sentenced a 19-year-old from Helchteren (Limburg Province) to 30 months’ imprisonment. The teenager was sentenced after having been found guilty of an attacking a bus driver that works for the Flemish public transport company De Lijn outside the railway station in the Limburg city of Genk.
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Teenager given 30-month prison sentence for assault on bus driver in Genk
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12 month’s of the 30-month prison sentence are suspended. The 19-year-old must also pay a fine of 1,600 euro and damages to the bus driver. A second youth that was involved in the incident was acquitted as there was not enough evidence to prove that he had assaulted the bus driver.
On 22 March the young man and his friend tried to board a bus while one of them they had a “vape” cigarette in their hand. The driver told them that they weren’t allowed to smoke on the bus. However, they got on the bus and sat down at the back.
When they got off the bus the two youths went to the front of the vehicle and spat in the driver’s face. The driver ran after them, but fell on the bus station platform. He was then hit several times. The driver suffered serious bruises and is still home on sick leave.
The attack led to a strike by drivers that work for De Lijn in Limburg Province. At the time the Flemish public transport company published an advertisement on social media denouncing violence against its staff.