A 44-year-old man from Nieuwegein has been sentenced to 120 hours of community service for stabbing a 70-year-old woman and her son in the restaurant of the Hof van Saksen park in Nooitgedacht. In addition, the judge imposed a prison sentence of 180 days, of which 169 days suspended. The man has been in custody for 11 days. That means he doesn’t have to go back to jail.
The 70-year-old victim suffered a stab wound that had to be closed with eight stitches. Her son suffered an arterial hemorrhage. The incident happened on June 29, 2019 after an argument between two children over a Lego brick. The boy then gave the girl’s mother a big mouth. The child was then corrected by the woman: ‘Shut up’.
Glasses and Lego blocks through the air
Things seemed calm for a moment, but when the girl’s family left the restaurant, the boy’s mother spoke to the girl again. Both parents interfered and the situation turned into total chaos. There was fighting and the glasses and Lego bricks flew around. The 44-year-old man from Nieuwgein – the boy’s father – stabbed him with a knife that he was eating at the time.
Not prosecuted
The boy’s parents were both arrested. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) did not prosecute the mother because of insufficient evidence, so that only the father was on trial. The judge mainly charged the man that this incident happened in a public place, in front of other guests and also young children. A family later said there was no way out because their child was stuck in a child seat.
Two weeks ago, the Public Prosecution Service demanded a higher community service of 180 hours. The judge took more account of the passage of time. The man has not previously been convicted of a violent act. He has to pay the victims a total of almost 3,000 euros.