Funeral of Heineken kidnapper leaves bad taste

To the disgust of police and politicians, the body of the man who kidnapped beer billionaire Freddy Heineken was paraded through Amsterdam in a horse-drawn carriage ahead of his burial today.

In a funeral reminiscent of that of a Mafia boss, Cor van Hout’s white hearse was pulled by eight Frisian horses, and followed by 15 white limousines and dozens of other cars though Amsterdam’s ancient Jordaan neighbourhood. The event was to be attended by around 2000 mourners.

Amsterdam police commissioner Jelle Kuiper said Van Hout’s burial was a “provocation by the underworld,” but said security was to remain low-key to avoid a confrontation.

Van Hout was shot dead last in an Amsterdam suburb the latest in a spate of gangland shootings.

Eyewitnesses saw two men on a red motorcycle open fire with automatic weapons outside a cafe and then speed away.

Police have made no arrests in the case.

Van Hout was convicted for abducting Heineken from his Amsterdam office in 1983 and holding him hostage for three weeks. Heineken was released unharmed after paying an estimated €9m ransom.

He was captured in Paris several months later, still in possession of most of the cash, and sentenced with four other men to 11 years in prison.

Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen “questioned the romanticisation of a man who led such a life.”

When Heineken died of pneumonia a year ago, he was considered the Netherlands’ richest man.