Van Quickenborne was celebrating his 50th birthday with a party at his home in Courtrai on the night of 14 August, when three intoxicated guests were caught urinating on a parked police van nearby.
Tom Janssens, spokesperson for the Courtrai prosecutor’s office, told AFP that this act had resulted in a judicial investigation for “contempt”, overseen by Roulers police.
According to news outlet Het Nieuwsblad, the three drunken perpetrators were filmed urinating on the van after departing the party late that night.
Van Quickenborne has since issued a statement denouncing the acts. In the statement published by his cabinet, the justice minister said he had not witnessed the event but “obviously” disapproved of the behaviour and encouraged police to follow up any findings made over the course of the investigation.
The SNPS police union said the events were “unworthy of a justice minister”, in a highly-ironic press release titled “the Watergate scandal” in the wake of the incident. “It’s a slap in the face for our police officers and demonstrates a lack of respect for our women and men in uniform,” the union continued.
The minister’s home has been under increased police surveillance since receiving threats alleged to be from drug trafficking gangs in 2022. The additional measures include video surveillance, which explains the presence of the police van in the vicinity of the minister’s residence.
