30 years old Klaas Haijtema from the Netherlands has been accused of an unplugging amplifier at a religious hall located opposite of his hotel on September 23. At that time, a group of worshippers was reciting the sermon at a religious hall in Maha Aung Myay Township, Mandalay Region.
This accident outraged the local population and the furious people gathered in front of the hotel and asked the hotel to hand over the tourist. Policemen came to disperse the angry crowd. The authorities promised the legal action would be taken against Haijtema.
The head of sermon team pressed charge against him with the “defaming the religion” as well as immigration department from Mandalay pressed charge against with “violation of term of immigration”. He had been detained at Obo Prison at Mandalay region.
During his first trial, Haijtema apologized for what he did and said he did not know the building was a religious hall and assumed the children are playing with music.
This is not the first time to charge a foreigner against the insulting religion in Myanmar. Last year, along with a bar owner, and another manager, who are both Burmese citizens, a bar manager from New Zealand was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for posting a photo of Buddha wearing a headphone on Facebook . In July this year, a Spaniard was arrested for sporting a Buddha tattoo on his leg. On October 6, he was sentenced to three months in jail for defaming the religion under section 296 of the Penal Code (Myanmar) as well as $ 80 fine for violation of the term of immigration.
