In South Asian countries, tearing up paper and throwing it at someone may be offensive but is rarely seen as a serious offence. In the UK, the same act has just cost a man nearly Rs 3 lakh for ripping a parking ticket off his windscreen and hurling it at a traffic warden.
According to The Metro, Stephen Lang, 58, was first penalised for parking outside a marked bay. He then took the ticket off his windscreen and threw it at a female enforcement officer before walking away. Moments later, he came back as she picked up the ticket from the ground and tried to put it back on the vehicle.
Lang, from Camborne, Cornwall, took it off again, crumpled it up and threw it towards the officer. The incident at Exchequer Quay car park in Penryn, Cornwall, was captured on the officer's body-worn camera and the car park's CCTV.
Cornwall Council said Lang was initially found guilty of littering on November 20, 2025. He was issued with a 250 pounds Fixed Penalty Notice for littering, which he failed to pay despite a reminder and warning that the matter could be referred for prosecution.
Truro Magistrates' Court heard the case on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Lang did not attend the hearing, and the court found him guilty in his absence.
According to The Metro, the court ordered Lang to pay a 250-Pound fine (about Rs 31,733), 1,920.90 Pounds in legal costs (about Rs 2.43 lakh) and a 100-pound victim surcharge (about Rs 12,693), taking his total penalty to roughly Rs 2.87 lakh.
Cllr Thalia Marrington, Cornwall's cabinet member for community safety and public health, said: "It is both unacceptable to litter and to be aggressive to an officer doing her job. We will not tolerate any abuse towards our officers."
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