German court pays £6,900 to fly student first class from Australia to testify about stolen phone

A German court has paid £6,900 to fly a student first class from Australia to Berlin to testify for 30 seconds in a court case about his stolen mobile phone. Student, Patrick Becker, 20, flew 9,998 miles because a judge said his presence at the hearing of a woman who allegedly stole his mobile was "vital."

Mr Becker, from the small town of Meppen near Hanover, was in Berlin in the spring of 2009 when his iPhone was stolen. He reported the theft, went home and heard nothing more.



He had flown to Sydney earlier this year for a three-month English language course when he was contacted by Berlin's District Court saying he must attend the hearing of the suspect. "I told the woman on the phone that I could only get first class tickets because of the short notice and she said, OK, go ahead," he said.

"I only spoke for about 30 seconds in court last Friday. Then I got reimbursed and I returned to Australia," he said. The thief who took his phone is 19 and has no money so the German taxpayer will now have to foot the bill for the journey. He was sentenced to a weekend's detention.