George Weah Jr, the son of the Liberian president George Weah, has been handed a six-month suspended sentence for disturbing the peace and noise pollution at his home just outside Paris.
“This is a first warning but there won’t be a second,” said Judge Pascal Humbert-Massa at Versailles criminal court.
Weah’s neighbours took him to court after he held a number of wild parties at a private home in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a chic suburb on the north-western fringes of the Paris.
The dozens of parties spanned a period from 1 January 2019 up until 14 February, 2021. One bash even included fireworks shot from the terrace of the home.
“It was not a small issue but a crime. And you haven’t done anything to decrease the volume, whether it’s the music or your guests shouting,” said Humbert-Massa.
“Now things need to calm down,” he added.
A number of the neighbours who testified said that they had been woken up about 50 times by music.
They said they had tried to come to an amicable solution with 33-year-old Weah before they started calling the police, according to Le Parisien.
The court was told that between September 2019 and February 2021, officers went to Weah’s house 10 times during the early hours of the morning to ask him to turn down the music.
Twice he invoked diplomatic immunity with his Liberian passport, which does not cover him.
“We are in front of an individual who puts his interests before those of society and who has no limits,” said lawyer Sophie Nizard, speaking on behalf of two plaintiffs. “It reminds me of the term ‘child king.'”
Neighbours complained Weah and his friends pumped up the volume and caroused throughout the nights during the week depriving them of sleep before going into work.
And during the Covid-19 confinement, one neighbour said the number of parties had gone up to four per week.
Weah, who had been living off a large monthly allowance from his father, claimed that he had made the mistake of lending his place to friends when he was away.
“They didn’t respect me,” added the former footballer.
Prosecutors had asked for a three-month suspended prison sentence but the judge opted for a heavier punishment.
He said that the repeated noise issues had an impact on the health, personal and professional life within the neighbourhood.
In addition to his suspended prison sentence, Weah was ordered to pay 21,400 euros divided between the six civil parties for non-pecuniary damage.
Source: RFI
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