KOBLENZ – A court in Germany Wednesday ruled that a 9-year-old boy must pay some EUR 25,000 to cover the costs of extinguishing a barn fire that he started by playing with matches.

In handing down the decision, the administrative court in the Rhine Valley city of Koblenz rejected a complaint by the boy’s parents, who said local authorities had no right to hold the boy responsible.

The incident occurred in the summer of 2002 when the boy set alight a bit of straw that fell from his hand and spawned an inferno which took 83 firefighters hours to extinguish.

The court ruled that an intelligent 9-year-old ought to know better.

DPA

Subject: German news