A man has denied breaching Covid rules after police broke up a party on a boat last month.
Jordy Nicholas Van Duijvenbode, 31, appeared at Thames Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, charged with one count of holding a gathering of more than 30 people.
In the early hours of Saturday, February 13, police responded to numerous complaints of a large number of people playing music on a houseboat on the River Lea near Hackney Marshes. When officers boarded the boat, they arrested Van Duijvenbode and issued 26 fixed penalty notices of £800 for breaking the rules designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
This was Van Duijvenbode’s second offence, having been charged with participating in a gathering of more than two people just one week earlier. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.
In a statement, Chief Inspector Pete Shaw, the officer in charge of East London’s Covid policing, said: “To have an individual who has repeatedly ignored these regulations and who appears to have organised multiple events is dangerous and indicates a complete disregard for the safety of all involved.”
Van Duijvenbode is scheduled to appear for trial at Stratford Magistrate’s Court on April 30.
