A young Hadera driver was fined 120,000 NIS for damaged caused to a traffic camera.

The young man was caught on film speeding on Route 4 about 18 months ago in the area of Ohr Akiva. He was traveling 124 KPH in a 90 KPH zone. The driver, who realized the speed camera recorded him decided to destroy the evidence, setting the camera on fire. He returned with a friend at about 3:00 AM and they poured gasoline on a towel and set the camera ablaze in the hope of destroying the photo of him speeding.

The wise young driver was not aware that the photos are sent to the police computer in real time and it did not take too long until police were knocking on his door. The two stood trial and were sent to jail, placed on probation and fined. The speeding driver was fined “tens of thousands” and his accomplice 25,000 NIS.

The story does not end here however. The Ministry of Public Security filed a civil suit against them for 40,000 NIS of direct damage and additional damage to the area near the camera. The lawsuit included payment to the company that runs the cameras for police since it was not operating for 220 days. The additional damages amounted to 70,000 NIS.

The court accepted the civil suit and in additional to their jail terms, fines for speeding and probation, they will have to pay 110,000 NIS in damages.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)