Denmark to toughen sanctions on coronavirus crimes

Denmark's government will on Thursday submit a second emergency coronavirus law to parliament, which will toughen punishments for coronavirus-related crimes, allow police to ban access to places they deem an infection risk, and make it easier to lower the size of allowed groups.

Published: 25 March 2020 21:25 CET

Denmark to toughen sanctions on coronavirus crimes

Justice Minister Nick Hækkerup said that the tougher sanctions were about sending a signal. Photo: Ida Guldbæk Arentsen/Ritzau Scanpix

At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, the country's justice minister Nick Hækkerup said that the government planned to quadruple the sanction on any companies caught fraudulently claiming funds under the government's financial aid packages.

It will also double the punishment on those who steal hand sanitiser or protective equipment from hospitals or pharmacies. “Going forward, you will go to jail if you commit that crime,” he said.

The minister conceded that the toughened punishments were primarily about sending a signal to potential fraudsters or thieves.

“We hope that it will make an impression when we multiply the punishments,” he said. “When we find that someone is abusing the situation to enrich themselves, we would like to signal that as a society, that is something we disavow.”

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After the press conference, DR reported that a letter from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to the chairman of the Danish parliament, Henrik Dam Kristensen, showed that other additional measures would be proposed on Thursday.

There would also be legislative amendments which empower the government to reduce the maximum allowed group below ten at short notice.

The new law would allow the government to ban access to new categories of place, such as playgrounds, without consulting parliament, and it would also empower the police to ban access to any specific place the health authorities deem an infection risk.

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The 39-year-old Polish man is suspected of punching Frederiksen on June 7th as she walked in central Copenhagen, leaving her with a minor whiplash injury.

“The court has decided that the suspect will remain in custody until July 4th,” a court official told AFP, following a hearing that lasted less than an hour.

The man, who was arrested immediately after the incident, has denied responsibility and says he has no recollection of what happened.

Frederiksen, 46, underwent a medical examination afterwards and was diagnosed with a “contusion on her right shoulder and a minor whiplash injury”, according to her office.

A medical certificate was presented to the court on Thursday.

Frederiksen and several witnesses have been questioned in the ongoing investigation, police said.

In police questioning, relayed to the court on Thursday, Frederiksen said the man approached her and uttered something incomprehensible, then hit her on the shoulder with a closed fist, Danish news agency Ritzau reported on Thursday.

According to prosecutor Line Steffensen, the man was drunk and had stolen alcohol from a grocery store just prior to his encounter with the prime minister.

Steffensen said the man had been arrested on several occasions for shoplifting since moving to Denmark five years ago.

Frederiksen became Denmark’s youngest ever prime minister when she was elected in 2019, aged 41. She won re-election in 2022.

She said after the attack that she was “shaken” and did not take part in the final day of campaigning for the EU election.