A man who removed his mask and deliberately coughed on a server at a Calgary bar last year has been convicted of assault.
In a decision released last week, provincial court Judge Heather Lamoureux wrote that "emitting a force consisting of lung-air molecules" can qualify as the use of force under the Criminal Code.The man, identified in the decision as 35-year-old Kyle Pruden, was also found guilty of assaulting a bar patron.Pruden was in the pub playing on a video lottery terminal when he went to the bar to cash out his $160 winnings, the court document says.
The judge's ruling says that Cossette testified that Pruden then took off his mask and started coughing at her and uttered "is this because of COVID?" At that point, it says, Pruden thought the bar patron was an employee and demanded the rest of his money.In her decision, Lamoureux noted that there were three other cases where people were convicted after coughing on others during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also wrote that neither the Crown nor defence were able to find any reported trial decisions on whether such an act qualified as a crime.
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