Curious OGH ruling

Why serial burglars should keep a record of their loot

Money back for a Hungarian serial criminal - made possible by a curious case law.(Bild: Kerstin Wassermann)

A trial in Klagenfurt causes astonishment - because a judge has to negotiate with a confessed serial burglar about which pieces of jewelry, cell phones and banknotes seized are stolen property and which have to be handed back to the crook after his four and a half years in prison.

The defendant is visibly annoyed that he had to be taken from his cell in Karlau prison back to Klagenfurt provincial court. "For four days I didn't know what it was all about," the Hungarian serial criminal complains to the interpreter, but perks up when he is told that he can expect to receive money thanks to some rather strange laws and a decision by the Supreme Court.