EVERYONE knows that you should cover your mouth when you burp and it cost one man £55 (US$77.6) when he failed to take that advice.

    Hungry bar owner Edin Mehic stopped off at a kebab stand while out for a walk in Vienna, Austria, and after stuffing his face he let out an enormous burp.

    Unfortunately, nearby police officers heard the almighty noise and slapped him with the fine for breaching the peace.

    The 27-year-old said he couldn’t believe he was stopped by officers for the burp — let alone being fined for it.

    He said, “I didn’t even know he was there until I felt his arm on my shoulder…

    “I know in these times police are very present on the streets to tackle crime but surely tackling a burper is a bit too much.”

    He added, “I guess things can’t be as bad in the area as we read in the papers because if they have time to chase up burping, it means there isn’t anything more serious to worry about.”

    Mehic’s post on Facebook about the incident quickly went viral, with a flash mob organizing a meetup later in the month to drink cola, eat kebabs and then stage a mass burping.

    In the meantime, he has handed the matter over to his lawyer, Heinz Robathin, who said, “It is all a question of perspective. If my client had done it in the opera or theater, I could probably understand somebody complaining.

    “But not in the Praterstern, where there are drug dealers and other people of dubious character on a daily basis. People burping is hardly rare there.”

    He added, “This is such an abuse of police authority that it borders on misconduct.”

    (SD-Agencies)