Belgian Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne Apologizes for Pipigate Incident on His Birthday

AFPVincent Van Quickenborne

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 22:34

The Belgian Minister of Justice Vincent van Quickenborne has apologized for the urination incident on his birthday. Today, the minister of justice went deep into the dust during an emergency debate in parliament.

“I want to expressly apologize to the police. I understand that officers see this as a personal attack,” said Van Quickenborne, who receives threats from the drug environment and is therefore protected. The justice minister was under fire because three guests urinated against a police van during his birthday party. “I get that their blood is boiling.”

Van Quickenborne still insists he knew nothing about urinating against the car until he saw reports about it in the media. “It is also said that I was laughing when I looked at my mobile phone,” he said against the Belgian broadcaster VRT. “I think those interpretations are very far-reaching and inconsistent with the truth.”

Pipigate

The minister celebrated his 50th birthday at home on 14 August. According to the VRT, camera images not only show that his guests urinate against the police car at different times, but you can also see how the minister himself comes out around 4 a.m. and opens the door of the car. The minister would have known about the urination and the images seem to indicate that he thought it was all quite funny, concludes the VRT.

The peeing incident caused great outrage throughout Belgium and became known as ‘pipigate’. The case is all the more annoying for Van Quickenborne, because he, together with another minister, is politically responsible for the police. Moreover, he is protected and secured by them. That is why the police vehicle was parked in front of his house during the birthday party. The relationship between him and the police unions has been bad for some time.

2023-09-07 20:34:54
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