Dutchman held in Myanmar after ‘pulling
plug’ on Buddhist sermon
September 27, 2016 The
News International
YANGON, Myanmar: A Dutch
tourist has been detained in Myanmar for insulting religion after
being accused of pulling the plug on a speaker relaying a
late-night Buddhist sermon in Mandalay.
Klass Haytema, 30, has been
held since Friday night when he allegedly disconnected the cable
linking an amplifier and a speaker at a hall playing the sermon
after he complained that it was disturbing him, police
said.
"The religious hall is not
far from the hotel where he was staying... he said he did it
because it was too noisy for him," Kyi Soe, police chief at Maha
Aung Myay township, told AFP.
An angry crowd followed the
man back to his hotel, where he was taken into custody by police
and later transferred to a Mandalay prison.
"We detained him for
insulting religion," he said, adding it was under section 295 of
Myanmar´s penal code.
He is yet to be charged but
the law carries up to a two year jail term and fine.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar
is deeply devout and several foreigners have been found guilty of
insulting religion.
In July a Spanish tourist
was deported from Myanmar after monks complained about a tattoo of
Buddha he had on his leg.
Last year a New Zealand bar
manager spent 10 months in jail for "insulting religion" by using a
Buddha image to promote a cheap drinks night.
Buddhist nationalism has
surged in Myanmar in recent years, with the country´s Muslim
minority -- around five percent of the population -- facing
particular pressure.