Gas Prices Drop to Zero in Belgium

It's true!  Just read in De Standaard, a leading paper, that the justice department will no longer prosecute for gasoline theft at service stations!  Just fill up your tank and drive off without paying...

Even if the owner gets your license plate and calls the cops, prosecution is unlikely to follow.  Laurette Onkelinx, Minister of Justice, said that it is just no use prosecuting in this kind of case.  The maximum jail time is too low, so even if a conviction is obtained the perpetrator walks away because there is not enough room in Belgian jails. 

And even getting a conviction involves too much effort in court, with long, drawn out procedures and people claiming they didn't intend to steal but just 'forgot' to pay.  So the reasoning goes: why bother?  Onkelinx claimed the department of justice is not an incasso-agency for pumpstation owners.

So, if you need gas, head to Belgium!

Source: Benzinedieven niet meer gestraft.