The public-spirited man wanted to clean the entrance area at the Ostbahnhof (East train station) and informed the police of his plans as a precautionary measure, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports.
“His intentions were completely praiseworthy,” a police spokesperson admitted.
The 49-year-old wanted to remove bottle caps that had become embedded in the tar.
“He likes cleanliness and knew that no one else would do it,” the spokesperson explained.
His plan was to use a knife to prise out the bottle caps and he informed the police about it in order to avoid a misunderstanding.
But unfortunately for him, his hand-length flick knife was on a banned weapons list.
Although it is legal to own such knifes in Germany, one cannot bring them into public spaces.
After being cautioned by officers, the man was allowed to go on his way. But he now faces a regulatory offence charge.
Undaunted, he went ahead with his mission to remove Ostbahnhof of bottle caps, but did it with a screwdriver instead.
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