Belgian man who skipped 100 restaurant bills is killed

 

He was a “happy-go-lucky” guy who was notorious for spicing up life on benefits in the medieval Belgian town of Ghent by strolling into a restaurant, calmly ordering lobster washed down with the finest brandy or some other gastronomic delight and then walking out without paying the bill.

But, after 100 or so incidents spread over a five-year spree, Titus Clarysse has turned up dead, prompting police to launch an investigation of “murder or manslaughter”.

Newspapers reported that he had been stabbed, but police refused to confirm this and there was no immediate indication of the motive.

However, his past as an unrepentant freeloader is almost certainly a focus of the investigation and questions on detective’s minds will surely include: Did he push a hot-headed chef too far, was he killed by a keenly sharpened Sabatier and just what was his last meal?

Tim Joiris, head of the Ghent region restaurant and hotel federation, struggled to believe anyone could have gone so far.

“Curse him? Maybe. But kill him? That makes no sense,” he said.

Detectives might do well to speak to Mr Joiris, as restaurant owners would often come to him to complain.

“It was trouble for everyone. And what's worse, for long nobody knew how really to deal with it,” he said.

“In the end, we knew his face, but you know, on a busy terrace in summer, full of people, he knew how to blend in.

“He did it all, the grand restaurants, the terraces. He really tried them all.”

Mr Clarysse was a “tafelschuimer” — someone who takes everything, even the crumbs, off the table.

“He was asking for it all — the whole menu,” Mr Joiris said with a laugh. “He would sit and wait after the meal — another beer, a brandy.

“We are not talking about an aggressive guy. He was just happy-go-lucky about it.”

Mr Joiris said that tales of people being forced to do the dishes if they could not afford to pay were “a myth”.

Restaurants in Ghent, a medieval university town with gabled fronts and terraces on cobblestones, attract an international and varied clientele.

Police spokeswoman Annemie Sirlippens said the 35-year-old Clarysse was found dead in his apartment on Monday night. She said they were looking for suspects in what she called “a case of murder or manslaughter”. 

On his exploits in restaurant, she said: “We are talking about 100 incidents spread over several convictions.”

De Standaard newspaper reported he was living on municipal welfare and often seemed to have what the paper described as the wrong kind of friends.

The website Deredactie.be said that Mr Clarysse’s body had been found by his father. It added that Mr Clarysse had been given a six-month prison sentence and a 1,650-euro fine for failing to pay restaurant bills.

VIDEO
Sport
Sir Alex Ferguson looks less than impressed during Manchester United's League Cup defeat to Sunderland
sportListen to drunk fan's 999 call demanding to speak to Alex Ferguson after penalty heartbreak
News
Justin Bieber's mug shot after being arrested for being drunk under the influence and resisting arrest
people
Extras
indybest
Life & Style
tech
Sport
Manchester United manager David Moyes (L) could launch a £30m bid for Chelsea's Juan Mata (C) but the decision will lie with Blues manager Jose Mourinho (R)
sport
Arts & Entertainment
filmInside Llewyn Davis is a 'tribute to the small-timers who were an essential part of 1960s music'
Sport
Felipe Massa paid tribute to his former team-mate Michael Schumacher during his annual charity karting race in Brazil by wearing 'Schumi' across his visor
sport
News
Footage posted online showed the extraordinary moment this woman and child were mown down by an out-of-control car - and jumped straight back up
video
Arts & Entertainment
A side view of 'Ecce Animal', a skull moulded out of cocaine by Dutch artist Diddo
arts + ents
Life & Style
motoring
Arts & Entertainment
Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone attend the 'Grudge Match' Rome Premiere
filmGeoffrey Macnab is disheartened to see the most formidable screen actor of his generation in so many clunky comedies
Independent
Travel Shop
the manor
The Manor at Weston-on-the-Green
from £175prpn Find out more
santorini
Luxury Santorini holiday
from £539pp for seven nights Find out more
sardina foodie
Sardina foodie holiday
from £858pp for seven nights Find out more
Elephant Appeal get involved >
Independent Dating
and  

By clicking 'Search' you
are agreeing to our
Terms of Use.

iJobs Job Widget
iJobs General

Highly Prestigious Brand looking for Junior IT Counsel!

£53000 - £62000 per annum + Excellent Benefits: Pro-Recruitment Group: One of ...

Enterprise Business Representative- Milton Keynes

£12000 per annum: Inspiring Interns: This rapidly growing media research and c...

Solution Architect- Transaction Banking- Payments

£80000 - £90000 per annum: Cornwallis Elt : Solution Architect, Client Facing,...

Financial Publishing Product Executive - £18-20k

£18000 - £20000 per annum: Inspiring Interns: This award winning financial pub...

Day In a Page

After 70 years, justice in sight for boy America sent to electric chair

After 70 years, justice in sight for boy America sent to electric chair

George Stinney was 14 when executed for a crime his family says he didn’t commit. A retrial may clear his name
Unearthed: Secrets of the devastation caused by Grand Slam, the largest WWII bomb ever tested in the UK

Unearthed: Secrets of the devastation caused by Grand Slam

The Barnes Wallis creation was the largest WWII bomb ever tested in the UK
A living history lesson: Holocaust survivor Eve Kugler talks to pupils around the country prior to Holocaust Memorial Day

A living history lesson: Remembering the Holocaust

Holocaust survivor Eve Kugler talks to pupils around the country prior to Holocaust Memorial Day
Keeping up with Ms Jones: From the irrepressible Nessa to warm and witty Stella - actress-writer Ruth Jones is on a roll

Actress-writer Ruth Jones is on a roll

Stella - the series which Jones writes, produces and stars in - is about to begin its third series
Time for fair play: Online cheating by gamers is increasing - and it's seriously spoiling the fun

Time for fair play: Fightback against online cheating

The idea of fair play has often been ignored by gamers desperate to slay end-of-level bosses or achieve the ultimate high score, but that's all changing
Rare documents reveal the tragic stories of those who sought official permission to not fight in the Great War

Non-fighting talk

Rare documents reveal the tragic stories of those who sought official permission to not fight in the Great War
That's rich! Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg has become the newest member of an elite club – one that's made up of female billionaires

Sheryl Sandberg is newest female billionaire

It's an elite club. Would that it weren't so exclusive says Gillian Orr
Italian renaissance: The house of Schiaparelli is relaunching after 60 years with a haute couture collection

Italian renaissance: House of Schiaparelli relaunches

After 60 years the fashion house is launching with a haute couture collection. Alexander Fury talks to its new designer
Paris Fashion Week: Jean Paul Gaultier tries to transmogrify haute couture at spring/summer 2014 show

Gaultier tries to transmogrify haute couture at Paris show

You felt you were witnessing a trite, tired form in its death throes
10 best Clothes irons

10 best clothes irons

None of us love ironing, but if you’ve got to put the hours in, it’s worth investing in a perfect presser
Phil Brown: 'I would have kept Hull in the Premier League for 20 years'

Phil Brown: 'I would have kept Hull in the Premier League for 20 years'

The club's former manager on how his achievements have been overshadowed by one notorious incident
Pete Jenson: The Nou Camp may one day have a mausoleum but Barça hope Neymar deal does not return to haunt them

Pete Jenson: A Different League

The Nou Camp may one day have a mausoleum but Barça hope Neymar deal does not return to haunt them
Steve Bunce on Boxing: Tiger's tale is still being told and there is a twist at the end of the long, hard road

Steve Bunce on Boxing

Tiger's tale is still being told and there is a twist at the end of the long, hard road
Syria report: One is reminded of Nazi Germany

Syria report: One is reminded of Nazi Germany

Everyone knows that the Assad regime – from father Hafez onwards – has employed torture and executions to preserve the doubtful purity of the Baath party, says Robert Fisk
Abortion doctors: A matter of life and death

A matter of life and death

For abortion doctors going about their work in the US, the risks are constant. One, who paid the ultimate price, has inspired a new film