A man in Canada is contesting a C$149 (£90) fine he received for “screaming in a public place” after being caught singing in his car.
The “tune that got him grooving”, as the BBC puts it, was C+C Music Factory's 1990s smash hit Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).
Taoufik Moalla was driving near his home in Montreal on 27 September when police pulled him over and asked if he had been screaming.
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“I said, ‘No, I was singing,’” he told the Montreal Gazette. “I was singing the refrain, ‘Everybody Dance Now,’ but it wasn't loud enough to disturb anyone.”
After the police examined his identification and did a cursory check of his car, they handed him a ticket for “screaming in a public place”.
A Montreal by-law states “to cause disorder by screaming violates ‘peace and tranquility’“ and can be punishable “by a fine of $50 to $1,000 for a first offence and $100 to $2,000 for subsequent infractions”, says the Canadian broadcaster CTV.
Moalla said he thought the situation was unusual but kept his calm.
“I said, ‘Okay, thank you,’ because I know I can contest the ticket,” he said. “They were doing their job.
“I understand if they are doing their job they are allowed to check if everything's okay, if I kidnapped someone or if there's danger inside. But I would never expect they would give me a ticket for that.”
As far as Moalla is concerned, a private car is not the same as a public space. It’s one thing to verify that nothing is amiss with a driver, he said, “but to give me a ticket for that is a bit strange. I wasn’t screaming, I was singing. In my car.”
Moalla now faces a year-long wait before he can contest the ticket in front a judge. His wife, however, said she wasn’t surprised that her husband’s vocals netted him a fine.
“She told me, if it was for singing, I’d have given you a ticket for $300,” he said.
Montreal police said they do not comment on individual tickets handed out to the public.
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