As I reported in this story in September, the Dutch police freed Kees B. who spend 4,5 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In spite of overwhelming evdidence (DNA, witnesses) that he didn’t do it, the police just ignored all evidence that pointed into the direction of the real killer, Wik H. Yesterday a Dutch judge awarded a 600.835 euro damages pay to Kees B. for that fact.
Since I wrote about this case a lot has happened. Kees – finally – did get an excuse from the Rotterdam Court of Justice, and so did the parents of the surviving victim Maikel (although the Judgde convicted Kees on the basis of the incomplete evidence presented by the police). Since september a lot more facts have come out about this case. Most of them are staggering.
Yesterday the Dutch TV program Zembla revealed that the Rotterdam police knowingly ignored 4 tips that pointed straight into the direction of the real killer. Two of them even came from other policemen that even gave the full name and address of Wik H. For whatever reason the police just completely ignored that information. What makes the case even worse, is the fact that Wik H. was able to commit two more crimes (rape and assault) because the police did not investigate the tips.
The only explanation I have for the whole case, is that the police new that Kees B. was a known paedophile, so they mus have figured that if they could pin this murder on him, they would do the Dutch society a favor anyway. Although I do not agree with the fact how police have handled this case at all, I am no supporter of paedophiles. So in that sense I do have mixed feelings about the case. I think Kees B. should be locked behind bars; but not for something he did not do.