AMSTERDAM: A Dutch appeals court has upheld the fraud conviction of a man who sold horsemeat labeled as Halal beef to two French traders, but reduced his punishment to a six-month suspended sentence and a 50,000-euro ($ 65,000) fine.
Jan Fasen was convicted in 2012 for purchasing hundreds of thousands of kilograms of horsemeat from Brazil and Mexico, mislabeling it as beef slaughtered according to Muslim dietary laws, and then selling it on to two unnamed French
buyers.
A lower court sentenced Fasen to nine months in prison. The appeals court in Den Bosch, Netherlands, said it was likely consumers ultimately ate the meat, but ruled prosecutors failed to prove Fasen’s clients were misled. Judges added there was no indication the meat was unsafe to eat.
Dutch horsemeat trader fined over ‘halal beef’
