AMSTERDAM — Khalid L. was sentenced on appeal in the Den Bosch Court on Monday to eight years jail and TBS psychiatric treatment for beating Rene Steegmans to death in 2002.

The Roermond Court sentenced the 19-year-old to the same jail term last year, ruling him culpably liable for the death of the 22-year-old Venlo student.

L. kicked and hit Steegmans on 22 October 2002 at a supermarket in Venlo after the victim confronted him for riding his moped too close to an elderly woman.

The Den Bosch Appeals Court ruled that L. had consciously accepted the risk that he might kick Steegmans to death, basing its ruling on findings from a psychiatrist, newspaper De Volkskrant reported.

“After a completely normal remark, you let yourself go. You used excessive violence. This is so serious and reprehensible, that a long punishment is necessary,” the court ruled.

The defence lawyer had claimed two weeks ago that L. would be better off with a short sentence and psychiatric treatment, but the prosecution argued that the original sentence was warranted as a payment for a complete lack of respect.

The beating death of Steegmans led to outrage across the Netherlands and placed renewed focus on ethnic crime after it was revealed that L. came from a Moroccan family.

His Dutch co-accused, Silvio R., was sentenced to 12-months detention in a youth institution. He was convicted of encouraging L. and also admitted to having kicked the victim, something that L. always denied.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Dutch news