A 72-year-old man with cancer was fined £72 and was told he should serve jail time
An exchange between a judge and a 72-year-old man with cancer has gone viral after the pensioner was berated for the state of his yard and told he should be “ashamed” of himself.
Burhan Chowdhury, who could be seen struggling to breathe as he attended his recent Michigan state court appearance over Zoom, told 31st District Judge Alexis G Krot that he was “weak” and unable to clear grass at his property in Detroit.
Krot wasn’t buying it, telling Chowdhury the state of the walkway was “totally inappropriate” and that he should be “ashamed” of himself.
The court hearing was shown a photo of the home’s exterior, as Chowdhury – of Hamtramck, Michigan – explained that he is a cancer patient and “very old, ma’am” and was “very weak”. He went on to say he simply couldn’t keep pace with the required upkeep.
Krot: “You should be ashamed of yourself. If I could give you jail time on this, I would.”
Issuing Chowdhury a $100 (£72) fine, the judge added: “You’ve got to get that cleaned up. That is totally inappropriate.”
The man’s son, Shibbir Chowdhury, who attended the Zoom hearing with his father, reiterating that his dad’s ill health had prevented him from clearing away the grass. However, he said, it has since been tided.
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Krot replied: “Do you see that photo? That is shameful. Shameful. The neighbours should not have to look at that. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Speaking to the Washington Post, Shibbir Chowdhury said he was “shocked” at the court’s response to his father’s predicament. Burhan Chowdhury was diagnosed with cancer in his lymph nodes in February 2019.
“The way she said that my father should serve jail time for this thing really bugged me,” 33-year-old Shibbir said. “I was really shocked by it. I didn’t expect her to yell at us in this kind of a situation.”
As well as battling cancer, Chowdhury’s health has also deteriorated from a heart issue and high blood pressure, while his wife has faced health problems of her own after falling down the stairs and hurting her back.
“It’s been difficult,” his son added, saying how cancer treatments have affected his father’s mobility.
