He became visually impaired, suffered permanent brain damage and suffers from anxiety problems. Ties (21) wanted to buy an iPhone via Marktplaats last year, but once he arrived at the location of the ‘deal’, he was beaten up by three boys. Last week the perpetrators, all teenagers, appeared in court. Ties was there. “It was a kind of closure.”
It is quite something, the complaints that Ties still suffers from today. Yet he answers ‘fine’ when asked how he is doing. “It’s getting better. I just kept going. I had no choice, I couldn’t sit still.”
Yet his life has not been the same since July 2024. That summer, Ties sees an iPhone 15 Pro Max for 900 euros on Marktplaats. Good deal, he thinks. He makes an appointment with the seller and leaves from the Eindhoven region to Venray.
Why?
But once we arrive at the appointment, things go wrong. He is beaten up by five boys. Why is still a mystery. Ties doubts whether the boys were after his money. “We didn’t agree on that beforehand. I feel like they just beat me up for fun. I heard laughter when they hit me, like they were enjoying it.”
Three of the five boys were later found by the police. All three are minors and therefore stood behind closed doors before the judge in Roermond this week.
Suspended sentence
Ties was there too. “I had to tell my story again. That went well. I didn’t find it intense seeing those guys either. It was a kind of closure.” According to Ties, the perpetrators showed no remorse. “They were mainly lying and denying. I expected that too.”
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) does not make any statements about the sentence demanded, because the boys are still minors. According to Ties, the court will make a ruling in two weeks.
