Thousands of spectators lined the route of the cycling road race through London and Surrey on the first day of the London Olympics(Agencies) |
A father with Parkinson’s disease was arrested as he watched the Olympic cycling road race because he ‘failed to smile or look like he was enjoying himself’. Mark Worsfold, a martial arts trainer and former soldier, claims that he was thrown to the floor and handcuffed just as cyclists passed by. His worried wife Nicola only found out he was being held after she reported him missing when he did not turn up for their daughter’s ninth birthday party. The 54-year-old had his fingerprints, DNA and mugshot taken before being questioned about why he did not appear to be enjoying the event on July 28. Police said Mr Worsfold, who was held for over five hours, was arrested because of ‘his manner, his state of dress and his proximity to the course’. A spokesman added that the arrest was necessary to avoid a breach of the peace because he was standing near a group of protesters. But Mr Worsfold, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2010, said that one of the symptoms of the disease is muscle rigidity, which can cause his face to become expressionless and mask-like. ‘I was sitting minding my own business,’ he told a local newspaper. ‘Before I knew anything the police grabbed me off this seven-foot wall, threw me to the floor and cuffed me so all I saw of the cycle race was between the feet of people from the pavement. ‘It could have been done better. I was arrested for not smiling. I have Parkinson’s.’ Mr Worsfold has since asked for a letter of exoneration from police. The officers who made the arrest have apologised to him. (Read by Rosie Tuck. Rosie Tuck is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
一名罹患了帕金森症的观众近日在观看奥运自行车公路赛时被英国警方莫名逮捕,因为他“没有笑,看起来也不享受赛事”。 马克-沃斯福德是一名武术教练,也是一名退役士兵。他说在自行车赛选手从身旁穿过时自己被按在了地上,戴上了手铐。 他的妻子妮可拉非常焦急,在发现他没有去参加女儿的九岁生日派对后报警称他失踪,却发现他其实是被逮捕了。 7月28日,在警察质询沃斯福德为什么不享受赛事之前,就要求54岁的沃斯福德留下了自己的指纹,并采集了DNA信息和脸部照片。 警方表示,他被逮捕是因为“面无表情、衣着不得体、以及站得过于接近赛道”。沃斯福德被关押了5个多小时。 一位发言人补充说,逮捕他在当时看来是必要的,是为了防止发生扰乱治安的行为,因为他紧挨着一批抗议人群。 沃斯福德在2010年被诊断患上了帕金森症。他表示,自己病症的一个表现就是肌肉僵硬,这会导致他面无表情,看起来像戴上了面具。 他告诉当地一家报纸说:“我当时正坐在那里做自己的事,还没反应过来,警察就把我从7英尺高的围栏上拽下来,按倒在地,把我铐了起来。所以我只在路边人们的脚的缝隙间看到了自行车赛。” “这太糟糕了。我因为没笑就被捕了,我可是帕金森症患者啊。” 沃斯福德随后向警察要了一份免罪声明。逮捕他的警察已经向他道歉。 相关阅读 (中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑:陈丹妮) |
Vocabulary: martial arts: 武术 mugshot:(警察局罪犯档案的)脸部照片 exoneration: 免罪,免除责任 |