Stalker let off in Austrialia because he watched Hindi movies

[hinduwoman]

I am finding this report hard to believe

A 32-year-old man accused of stalking two women in Australia has escaped conviction after arguing he was influenced by Bollywood movies to believe that doggedly pursuing a woman would eventually cause them to fall in love.


The court in Hobart in the state of Tasmania said it would not record a conviction against Sandesh Baliga, citing his cultural background.

Mr Baliga arrived in Australia three years ago from India and was accused of stalking one woman for 18 months and another for four months in 2012 and 2013.

The court heard that Mr Baliga, a security guard who arrived in Australia to study accounting, repeatedly texted, called and approached the women after a chance meeting with each and he had begun referring to himself as their boyfriend.

Local magistrate Michael Hill accepted Mr Baliga's claim that his cultural background helped to explain his failure to appreciate the seriousness of his behaviour.

He did not understand that what he was doing is a crime. The judge just put him on good behaviour.

Surely that alone cannot be an acceptable reason to excuse this man; even in India that is not considered to be a valid excuse.
Can someone get hold of the actual judgement?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

And the judge then stopped off on the way home to masturbate in the bushes outside his ex-girlfriend's bedroom.

If not, the ruling makes no sense.

 

[Derec]

So is this an instance of cultural oversensititivty, ethnic double standards and political correctness run amok (as I strongly suspect) or would the same court had acquitted a white guy who claimed he watched too many Hollywood romcoms?

 

[Nice Squirrel]

Not sure here. It really depends on his behavior, but yes movies and popular culture do teach that stalking is acceptable. And I have seen a couple of examples in real life where a stalker has gotten the girl to fall in love with them.

Like I siad, it really depends on the actual behavior.

And he is not exactly off scott free, "The court acknowledged Mr Baliga's remorse and guilty plea and ruled that no conviction would be recorded on condition of his good behaviour for five years."

No more stalky, stalky or he gets labeled a stalker.

 

[fast]

I would need more information about the frequency of his texting, calling, and approaching. I would need to know more about the circumstances of the arrest. I would need a better understanding of the culture.

 

[ronburgundy]

Anything that can be excused from prosecution due to culture or socialization should not be a crime in the first place.

If something is serious enough to be a crime, then socialization is irrelevant, and all non-mentally challenged adult should be held responsible for knowing the rules within the society they are in at the time.

I'm not taking a position on whether his particular actions were criminal, just arguing that they either were criminal for him and everyone else, or for no one.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

... all non-mentally challenged adult should be held responsible for knowing the rules within the society they are in at the time.

That's a fair point. The man was a Bollywood fan and I agree with ronburgundy that he shouldn't be considered competent enough to be held responsible for his actions.