Linzer in court

“Then I’ll set AMS on fire, gas doesn’t cost much”

A "hostage-taking" recently took place at AMS Gmunden.(Bild: Klemens Fellner)

Dangerous situations with mostly dissatisfied customers are said to occur time and again at the AMS. After the incident at the employment office in Gmunden, where a client wielded a knife, another 53-year-old man has to stand trial in Linz. He is said to have threatened an arson attack.

A phone call set alarm bells ringing at the Linz employment service. A 53-year-old is said to have literally threatened an employee: "If the AMS and PVA (pension insurance institution, note) play each other any longer, I'll set fire to the AMS office and the PVA too, because a small can of petrol doesn't cost much."

Penalty of up to three years
It is still unclear what so enraged the AMS customer - the incident has now come to light, he made the call in May - because the 53-year-old is remaining stubbornly silent: "The accused has not yet made a statement," says Walter Eichinger, spokesman for the regional court in Linz. The 53-year-old will stand trial there on Wednesday for making a dangerous threat. "The penalty range is up to three years in prison," says Eichinger.

Client in custody after threatening with a knife
This threatening phone call is not an isolated incident: according to AMS Upper Austria boss Iris Schmidt, verbal assaults by clients who are "often in exceptional situations" occur time and again. Just under two weeks ago, however, a client (36) at AMS Gmunden shocked even hardened job advisors when he pulled out a knife and threatened the deputy head of department.

The action - which ended with an arrest, no one was injured - had a tragic background: the desperate Laakirchen man was probably threatened with eviction, so he had the idea of spending the winter in prison. At least the 36-year-old is now in custody until October 4, when his sentence must be extended. "Investigations are underway into kidnapping for extortion", says Christoph Weber from the public prosecutor's office in Wels about the case. "An expert opinion on the question of sanity is being obtained."