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CRIME

Couple face jail over 14-month hotel bill

A German couple face jail and a large bill after residing in a Spanish hotel for 14 months without paying, saying they thought they could stay for free while talking about buying the property.

Couple face jail over 14-month hotel bill
Photo: DPA

The 63-year-old Hans W. and his 31-year-old girlfriend Monika U. took up residence in the four-star hotel in the popular tourist town of Pals, supposedly with the intention of buying the €8.2 million building, online newspaper El Confidencial reported.

The two Germans assured the hotel’s owners they were in a sound financial position and ran an audovisual production and distribution company in the United States.

They claimed they were told by hotel management they could stay for free while they negotiated the purchase of the property.

But the sale of the hotel fell through and the hotel owner then demanded that the couple pay for their stay.

A court case began on Monday in the town of Girona, where the pair faced charges of fraud. If convicted they could face four years in prison, a fine of €2,700 and the cost of their stay – €132,000.

The pair stayed at the Hotel Mas Salvi from the 30th of March 2009 to the end of July the following year.

The Local/jcw/ad

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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