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.