THE AMOUNT that a person can be fined for insulting a public official will not be increased, as the relevant paragraphs in a draft amendment to the law on misdemeanours prepared by the Interior Ministry will not be included when the amendment is forwarded to parliament for action, the TASR newswire reported.
The original version of the amendment increased the fine for insulting a public official from €165 to €500, the Pravda daily wrote on December 31. After Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic learned about the proposed change, he apologised to the public and said he would take disciplinary action against the ministry staff responsible for drafting the change.
“I’m quite saddened that this amendment featured more stringent punishment for verbal offences committed against public officials,” Lipšic said, as quoted by TASR, adding that he considers this case to “be evidence of the fact that some of my colleagues at the ministry have failed to grasp what their job is actually about.”
Lipšic admitted that he had not thoroughly read the amendment before it was submitted for intergovernmental comments and that he only knew its basic points.
“There is not time to read every piece of legislation in detail,” he said, as quoted by TASR.
