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Dutch bar owners fined 1,200 euros over smoking ban 

A Dutch court fined the owners of a small Dutch bar 1,200 euros Friday in the country's first-ever court case for flouting a smoking ban imposed on the hospitality industry.

Brothers Gerhard and Ronald Sannes, owners of Cafe de Kachel in Groningen in the north of the country, admitted contravening the oft-flouted law when they appeared before a district court in the same city earlier in the month.

Court spokesman Maurice van Dyk said Friday that on top of the fine, the owners were also sentenced to a one-year probation period, during which time the bar will be closed for a month for any further contravention.

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