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Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne will appear in front of a parliamentary committee on Thursday to answer questions about a peeing incident that took place at his birthday party last month.
During the celebrations for Van Quickenborne’s 50th birthday on August 14, two guests urinated against a police van, parked near the minister’s home, while another guest took photos.
Van Quickenborne’s office initially released a statement saying the minister “disapproves of this behavior,” and that he was not “present” at the time of the incident or aware that it had happened.
But video footage obtained by VRT on Monday shows Van Quickenborne might have known about the incident after all.
In the footage, the minister can be seen walking outside at around 4 a.m., hours after his guests had urinated on the police vehicle. He then stands on the sidewalk, leans back and “pretends to pee,” according to VRT.
The incident — dubbed “Pipigate” online — triggered a wave of criticism from police unions and other politicians. The Prosecutor’s Office said it would launch an investigation into what happened.
On Monday evening, Van Quickenborne told VTM news channel that it was “far reaching” to conclude that he knew about what his guests had done based on the footage.
Van Quickenborne will now have to explain what happened in front of the house justice committee. Kristien Van Vaerenbergh, chair of the committee, confirmed it will meet on Thursday afternoon to ask the minister for “clarification” on the incident.
Van Quickenborne has been under security protection for almost a year, after he was the target of serious threats from drug organizations and of a foiled kidnapping attempt.
