A 55-year-old woman known among restaurateurs in coastal Belgium as the 'terror of the coastal hospitality industry'. She has received a heavy new prison sentence after repeatedly dining out without paying.
According to HLN, the woman, identified as Nadine W., appeared before the Bruges Criminal Court after 22 unpaid restaurant bills recorded between June and December 2025 in coastal cities: Ostend, Blankenberge and Middelkerke.
Prosecutors reportedly told the court that restaurants along the coast had grown 'fed up' with the repeated incidents.
The case was aggravated by a separate offence in which the woman attempted to steal a bottle of Bacardi Breezer from a shop in Blankenberge in August 2025, notes HLN. Because attempted theft carries heavier penalties than fraud, prosecutors were able to seek a tougher sentence, the Flemish daily added.
The judge ultimately imposed an additional 14-month prison sentence and a €208 fine, along with six more months in prison for the remaining offences.
The defendant already has a long criminal record linked to similar incidents. Over the years, she accumulated multiple convictions for unpaid restaurant bills across courts in West and East Flanders.
At one point, the combined sentences reached around eight years in prison, although appeals later reduced that total to roughly two and a half years. She served time in prison between July 2019 and December 2021 before being released.
However, the offences continued. Shortly after leaving custody in 2024, she was again convicted for unpaid dinners in Ostend, followed by further cases in Bruges and Veurne.
Her lawyer, Peter Gonnissen, told HLN that his client struggles with mental health problems and suggested compulsory psychiatric care might be more appropriate than prison.
According to her legal guardian, attempts to secure voluntary treatment have failed.
"She needs psychological help but refuses it," the guardian reportedly told the court. "The only solution left may be compulsory admission."
With the new sentence added to previous convictions, the chances that the woman will return to prison are now considered extremely high.
