PSV player Noni Madueke (20) will receive a fine of 1370 euros and a suspended community service order of 120 hours, because he drove around without a driver’s license at the end of last year. This was determined by the police judge in Eindhoven on Monday morning. Agents arrested him on December 29 near Eindhoven Airport. There it turned out that he had a false British document with him.
Madueke attended the magistrate’s court together with his father and lawyer. He followed the lawsuit through an interpreter. The hearing started with a request from his lawyer Noortje Lut to handle the case behind closed doors.
After fifteen minutes of thinking, the judge finally agreed to this request. “Because of respect for the privacy of a very young suspect, I ask everyone to leave the room,” the judge said. According to her, a public hearing would be a serious violation of ‘good justice’. It can be concluded from this that Madueke would remain silent if there were journalists in the room.
Unique, OM not happy
Closing the doors of a lawsuit is rare. Only minors are allowed to handle their cases behind closed doors, otherwise the rule is that lawsuits are heard in public.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has expressly opposed a closed-door treatment, a spokesperson said. “Openness of the investigation is a great asset and it makes the judiciary verifiable for the press and the public. This is especially important in a case like this, because it must be possible to check that suspected suspects are not treated differently from others. We believe that there is no exception.” should be made, because the person in this case is well-known and still relatively young,” it said.
False British papers
Without the presence of the press, the PSV player eventually told the judge his story. On 29 December, Marechaussee officers saw Madueke behind the wheel of a car on Freddy van Riemsdijkweg in Eindhoven. When they checked him, it turned out that he did not have a driver’s license. The native Englishman then showed false British papers. Therefore, the football player was arrested.
“It is a real danger on the road if people drive without a driver’s license,” the judge said in her ruling. “It is also very bad that you show a false driver’s license.” However, the judge did indicate that Madueke’s young age was taken into account. “And the impact for you as a well-known footballer is also great. Normally no name is mentioned, in your case it is. I also consider that.”
Madueke will be fined 1000 euros for the false driver’s license. Driving without a driver’s license results in a fine of 370 euros. The Public Prosecution Service can live with the court’s ruling, but no decision has yet been made whether or not the judiciary will appeal.
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