Tourist is jailed for three months

BURMA - A Dutch tourist has been jailed for three months for disrupting a Buddhist sermon in Burma, after he unplugged speakers at a community hall so that he could get some sleep.

A Burmese court sentenced Klaas Haytema, 30, to three months in prison and a fine, his lawyer said. Haytema was arrested after he went into a community hall in the central city of Mandalay on September 23 and disrupted a recitation by Buddhist laymen. The Dutchman told a court hearing on Tuesday he was unaware a religious ceremony was in progress, but had disconnected the hall’s loudspeakers because they were disturbing his sleep, said Hla Ko, a Burmese lawyer who volunteered to represent the Dutchman. Sermons broadcast through the night using loudspeakers are a common practice in the Southeast Asian country, where the vast majority of people are Buddhists. A judge convicted Haytema of ‘causing disturbance to an assembly lawfully engaged in the performance of religious worship,’ Hla Ko told Reuters. ‘He was found guilty under Section 296 of the Penal Code and sentenced to three months in prison,’ the lawyer said, adding that a fine of about $80 was also paid on Haytema’s behalf for breaching Burma’s rules on respecting its culture. ‘I plan to lodge an appeal for him against the verdict,’ he added.

(dailymail.co.uk)