Jail for ex-Apple employee who stored urine and excrement in bottles, bags and boxes

A former Apple employee has been jailed for 12 months for causing €15,000 worth of damage to a luxury flat in Cork, Ireland, by storing his urine and excrement in bottles, bags and boxes around the property over a three-month period. The storage by Robert Kummer, 37, of hundreds of bags of his own faeces and bottles of urine resulted in a major public health scare. Gardai were so concerned by what they discovered in the flat in Cork city centre that they alerted the fire brigade.



The smell in the flat was so noxious that brigade officials had to use breathing apparatus to conduct a flat inspection. The excrement had seeped through the floor-boards and officials were worried it may have entered other parts of the complex. Gardai were first notified when a neighbour became very concerned about a foul smell. The scene inside Kummer's flat was so graphic, with excrement smeared on walls, floors and the ceiling, that gardai initially feared "something untoward had happened".

But an investigation revealed that Kummer, originally from Germany, who had lived in Ireland since 2009, had been storing his faeces in the flat for over three months. Kummer pleaded guilty to criminal damage on dates leading up to September 24, 2013. Judge Sean O'Donnabhain in Cork Circuit Criminal Court was told that the excrement had caused enormous damage. All the floor-boards had to be ripped up and replaced. The entire flat had to be cleaned and fully redecorated involving all ceilings, walls and floors.



Kummer had been remanded on bail following his plea to allow him raise compensation. However, the court was told that, despite lengthy adjournments, he had raised only €800 despite being in good employment. Psychiatrist Dr John Dennehy said that Kummer might have suffered from "depressive episodes". However, he was still "at a loss to explain his behaviour". Judge O'Donnabhain acknowledged it was a very strange case. "This is a most unusual case. It is bizarre. There was very extensive damage to the property. The accused had every opportunity to pay (significant) compensation. But he did not do so," he added. Judge O'Donnabhain jailed Kummer for 12 months.