World : 200 Soldiers Pay for Scratched Car
LONDON — A British army officer in West Germany confined 200 of his men to barracks for three days after discovering a scratch on his station wagon, the Defense Ministry said today.
Lt. Col. Rod Brummitt issued the order to all the unmarried soldiers under his command at Hamer, near Dortmund, in an effort to find the man who scratched the car.
The ministry was commenting on a report of the incident in the Sun newspaper headlined “Colonel Crackpot.”
The tabloid quoted one of Brummitt’s men as saying: “The damage to his car wasn’t all that great. And why did he pick on the single soldiers (when) anyone in the regiment could have done it?”
The ministry said Brummitt rescinded his order after telling the soldiers he was disappointed that the culprit had not owned up.
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