Turkey - smoker wounds manager and kills his friend when asked to stop smoking..

July 30, 2009 - A smoker shot one man dead and wounded another after he was told to stub out his cigarette at a restaurant in Turkey in line with a recent government ban, the Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.

The gunman was drinking and smoking with friends in a restaurant in the town of Kumkuyucak, in the western province of Manisa, when the manager and his friend told them to put out their cigarettes, mayor Veli Yalcin told the agency.

In the ensuing fight, the assailant fired his gun, wounding the manager and killing his 46-year-old friend, who was an accountant at the local municipality, the mayor said. Police launched a manhunt to catch the assailant.

Turkey introduced a ban on smoking in bars, cafes and restaurants on July 19, stipulating fines for both smokers and establishments for violations.

(Back in February 2009 a Sudanese man has been sentenced to 30 lashes for smoking on a domestic Saudi Arabian Airlines flight..)

Reference: Smoking leads to murder, SAPA, News24.com, 7/29/2009.

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