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Ignorance does not protect against punishment: In accordance with this principle, the Horgen District Court ruled on Wednesday that a 46-year-old German must pay the masked fine he received on the train. At the time he was only wearing a scarf.
Unfortunately, he cannot bear hygienic masks, the 46-year-old said. He also appeared to the audience without a face mask, prompting the judge to equip everyone present with an FFP2 mask.
The German emphasized that he has a medical certificate since November 2020 that exempts him from wearing a mask. The reasons he cited were suffering from asthma and crawling on his stomach in a sleeping bag as a child. “I almost suffocated back then.” Even today she has panic attacks when her face is covered.
I traveled a lot for business
The incident on the train occurred in August 2020, around three months before the man received his mask certificate. On the journey from Zug to Zurich, instead of a hygienic mask, he only put a handkerchief over his mouth and nose, much to the chagrin of the inspector.
Because the German refused to get off the train, the inspector growled at him a 200 franc fine and indicated that he would receive a registered letter for this in the coming weeks.
However, this letter with the sanction order did not reach the addressee immediately. Unfortunately, he was unable to collect the letter because he was away for a long time on business, he said.
The term had already expired
I didn’t know that you would have been forced to arrange a pickup or place a shipping order. The criminal order returned to the governor’s office and was only later sent to the penitent as a so-called “guidance copy.”
Therefore, his objection to the fine reached the governor’s office too late. The appeal period had already expired. The Horgen district court had to decide on Wednesday whether his objection applies or not.
Not applicable, the court ruled. Not knowing something is not a reason to be released from a sanction, hence the reasoning. In this way, the judge adhered to the jurisprudence of the federal court, which had to deal with certified letters that had not been collected several times.
Some masked opponents are concerned about the beginning
The German has to pay the fine, plus 250 francs for governor’s office fees and 300 francs for court fees, a total of 750 francs.
The decision is not final yet. The fined person can still take it to the superior and federal courts, which, however, should be of little use because they have clear jurisprudence on “ignorance.”
In the coming weeks and months, people will appear in court multiple times in the Zurich area and they will not want to pay their fine for violating the Covid Ordinance, for whatever reason. Some are masked opponents who care for the beginning.
But some also violated the ban on meetings, such as a councilor from the SP of Zurich. He had participated in a bicycle demonstration during the strict ban on meetings. (SDA)
