Swiss court fines speeding millionaire $290,000

Jazzy · Post by **Jazzy** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 5:47 am

ST. GALLEN, Switzerland â€“ A Swiss court has slapped a wealthy speeder with a chalet-sized fine â€” a full $290,000.

Judges at the cantonal court in St. Gallen, in eastern Switzerland, based the record-breaking fine on the speeder's estimated wealth of over $20 million.

A statement on the court's Web site says the driver â€” a repeat offender â€” drove up to 35 miles an hour (57 kilometers an hour) faster than the 50-mile-an-hour (80-kilometer-an-hour) limit.

Court clerk Heidi Baumann-Becker said Thursday the unidentified driver can appeal the decision, handed down in November, to the Swiss supreme court.

The Blick daily newspaper in Zurich reported the fine was more than twice the previous Swiss record of about $107,000.

Story Link: Swiss court fines speeding millionaire $290,000 - Yahoo! News

Post by **spot** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:12 am

How else can you stop people with that much wealth from speeding with impunity? Either the punishment has to be a jail term or it has to be a meaningful fine.

Ahso! · Post by **Ahso!** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:21 am

sounds good to me. I wonder if its actually enough though.

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:31 am

Well, given that Swiss money is basically Nazi gold, African dictators' retirement funds, Mafia profits - in other words, dirty money made from the misery of others - who cares?