French Apple Store Smasher Sentenced, Ordered To Repay $19K In Damages
The man who went on a phone-smashing spree at a mall near Dijon, France, reportedly because the company wouldn’t replace his defective iPhone, has received a six-month suspended prison sentence. He must stay away from the mall and pay Apple back for his destruction spree.
While the man now says that he was filled with uncontrollable rage at Apple, he looked very calm on camera as he moved through the store methodically smashing every display model with a hollow steel ball used in the Bocce-like game pétanque. Yeah, let’s watch the video again.
How much did that spree cost? That turned out to be a dispute between the French criminal justice system and Apple, since the store apparently whisked the smashed items away and replaced them with new displays before the police could inspect the crime scene.
While Apple claimed that the destroyed merchandise was worth €60,000 ($65,415), the tribunal set the amount that the disgruntled customer has to repay at €17,548 ($19,134).
The correctional tribunal (where misdemeanors are prosecuted in France) noted that the items destroyed were display models, and shouldn’t necessarily be valued at their original retail price. The tribunal also imposed a €300 ($327) fine for violence against a mall security guard, and two years of probation.
Dijon: condamné après avoir saccagé l’Apple Store [Le Figaro] (via AppleInsider)
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