The former mayor of Groningen, Koen Schuiling, was pressed into taking early retirement by home affairs minister Judith Uitermark after he was reported to police for allegedly exposing himself in his car, local media reported on Wednesday.

Schuiling stepped down in September at the age of 65, a year before the end of his term, after what he called an “extraordinarily intensive period”.

“Reflecting on the past year, I have to conclude that I no longer have the energy needed to commit myself fully to my duties,” he said at the time.

But Groningen-based newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden reported that Schuiling had been given an ultimatum by the justice minister after the mayor was fined for allegedly masturbating in his car by the roadside.

Schuiling has denied the claim and was due to appear in court on Wednesday to contest the €250 fine issued by the prosecution service. He claims he was suffering from stomach complaints caused by a medical condition.

“I will convince the court on the basis of all the available information that this is a case of an unfortunate misunderstanding,” Schuiling said.

Stomach pains

“In March 2024 I was driving alone in my car,” he said in a statement. “I was suffering from sudden severe stomach pains due to my medical condition. My efforts to subdue the pain were perceived by another road user as provocative behaviour. Clearly this was not the case.”

Police received two earlier complaints in the previous six months of the mayor behaving inappropriately at the wheel of his vehicle. Local police chief Martin Sitalsing and chief prosecutor Diederik Greive called on him to step down for indecent exposure.

The king’s commissioner for Groningen, René Paas, raised the issue with the newly appointed interior minister, Judith Uitermark, pointing out that Schuiling could be politically compromised by the affair.

On the orders of the ministry, Schuiling was excluded from local government meetings such as the safety advisory council and announced a month later that he was stepping down.

A spokesman for the interior ministry said the mayor had taken the decision to quit alone, while Schuiling has denied that it was prompted by the roadside incident.

At the time he said that the strain of handling high-profile issues such as the reparations for gas drilling, the coronavirus pandemic and overcrowding at the asylum seekers’ reception centre in nearby Ter Apel had taken their toll.

Wednesday’s hearing, which was being heard in open court, was halted before it could begin because of a procedural error.