One fine day in Beersheba

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The Beersheba Magistrates' Court has imposed an unprecedented NIS 10,000 fine on a resident who refused to pay four NIS 70 parking fines, reports www.local.co.il. A judge strongly criticized the man, saying that instead of accepting his punishment for parking illegally and paying the fines, he had dragged the city through "a long and unnecessary" legal battle. According to the report, the Beersheba resident was fined NIS 70 on four separate occasions for parking offenses, creating a total of NIS 280 in parking fines. He refused to pay over an extended period and recently sued the city, claiming that he had not received the fines by registered mail and had not known about them, and that the fines should be canceled because of their age. But a judge rejected the man's allegations, saying that the city had produced documents showing it had acted properly to notify the man. "It is difficult to look with a kind eye at the behavior of the plaintiff, who committed offenses and instead of bearing his punishment through paying the fines, ignored the demands for payment, initiated a process and dragged the defendant (the city of Beersheba) to a long and unnecessary [process]," the judge said.