Spitting offender made to cough up NIS 800 penalty

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Beersheba is becoming phlegmatic about phlegm, according to www.mynet.co.il. A man who was seen spitting on the street repeatedly near the city market ended up with more than just a lump in his throat when he found himself being fined NIS 800 in the Beersheba Court for Local Matters recently. According to the report, back in December of 2006, a policeman and a municipal inspector were patrolling outside the city market when they pulled a car over for a routine inspection. While the policeman was studying the car's documents, the inspector saw the driver spitting a number of times on the roadside. He asked the man why he was doing so and the man replied that he had phlegm stuck in his throat and "needed to spit at frequent intervals." The inspector reportedly was not impressed and wrote out a fine based on municipal by-laws against spitting in public, but the man refused to sign it and said municipal fines were "garbage." The report said the city decided to press charges and took the case to the Beersheba Court for Local Matters. There, Judge Israel Axelrad ruled in favor of the city, saying that its evidence was reliable, clear and direct. He convicted the man on the spitting in public charge and sentenced him to pay the fine of NIS 800 or spend 10 days in jail.