May 11, 2021
-ABC
BERLIN — A man in Austria has been convicted of intentionally infecting his ex-wife with the coronavirus by coughing at her.
A spokesman for the Linz regional court said Tuesday that the 63-year-old was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for three years.
The defendant, whose name wasn’t released for privacy reasons, had coughed at the 70-year-old woman after learning that he had tested positive for COVID-19, court spokesman Walter Eichinger said. The defendant was also convicted of threatening the victim and lesser bodily harm for grabbing her throat and urging her to leave their shared house.
He was ordered to pay 1,000 euros (about $1,220) in damages to his ex-wife, who has since recovered from her COVID-19 infection.
Neither the defendant nor prosecutors planned to appeal the sentence.
