A man and a woman were arrested in the Antwerp province, in the city of Antwerp and the city of Mechelen respectively, after two incidents in which they spat at other people, on Friday.
Over the past two months, dozens of people have been arrested in Belgium for spitting, coughing or sneezing at emergency service staff or other civilians during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the city of Antwerp, the spitting incident took place at the entrance of the 'De Biekorf' shelter for homeless people, reports Gazet van Antwerpen. A 54-year-old man got into trouble with the supervisors because he refused to keep the mandatory social distance.
When an employee of the shelter denied him entrance, he spat in the face of the employee. The victim wore a face mask, but was hit in the eyes.
Related News
- Police catch three youths spitting on car door handles to infect officers
- Five women arrested after jogger harassed and spat on in Ghent
- Coronavirus: Belgium makes spitting punishable by fines and jail time
In Mechelen, also in the Antwerp province, a 38-year-old woman was arrested after spitting at a De Lijn bus driver. She behaved aggressively towards the bus driver because he had stopped at the station in Mechelen and got out to recover from the heat, reports VRT.
The Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office said it has had to deal with similar situations and calls it "particularly anti-social and totally unacceptable behaviour."
At the end of March, Belgium made spitting punishable by fines up to €2,400, and prison terms of between 3 months and two years. Last week, the first verdicts against other "corona spitters" were already delivered, resulting in sentences of up to a year in prison.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
