Marinus Hendrikus van Uden jailed for three months over social media attack on Queensland Building and Construction Commission

A Queensland carpenter will be jailed for failing to desist from a prolonged campaign of hate waged against the state’s building watchdog, its staff and even one of their wives.

A Queensland tradie will be jailed for failing to desist from a prolonged and unhinged social media campaign hammering the state’s building watchdog, its staff and even one of their wives.

Carpenter Marinus Hendrikus van Uden was sentenced to three months jail for contempt of court orders which stipulated he disable social media accounts attacking the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.

At his sentencing this month District Court Judge Ian Dreaden issued an arrest warrant for van Uden who has not participated in proceedings the QBCC initiated in June 2020.

Marinus Hendrikus van Uden was sentenced to three months jail for contempt after failing to remove social media accounts attacking the QBCC.

The long-running saga began in September 2019 when the QBCC received a complaint about allegedly defective building work by van Uden on the Sunshine Coast.

Van Uden’s building and carpentry company the Flying Dutchman was then based near Noosa.

In January 2020 QBCC inspector Ross Blumel conducted an onsite inspection of the property where it’s owners and an “aggressive” van Uden were present, the court heard.

Later that day Mr Blumel received an email from van Uden which stated “I‘ll make sure your face, your name and all corrupt fake ‘inspectors’ and employees will be shining viral on the ’internet’ media.”, the court heard.

On January 17, Mr Blumel issued a formal Direction to Rectify the building work to van Uden who responded by calling him a “dirty bastard” in a text, the court heard.

The dispute started after the QBCC issued a rectify work direction to van Uden in 2020.

The following day “vituperative statements” about the QBCC, Mr Blumel and another employee appeared on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube under accounts titled QBCC Corruption

“The posts were inflammatory and voluminous, with copies thereof spanning some 277 pages,” Judge Dreaden said.

He said there “could never be any doubt” the posts, which alleged the QBCC was corrupt, employed building inspectors committing criminal offences by working as unaccredited and should be jailed, were made by van Uden.

In June 2020 the QBCC took van Uden to court in a bid to stop him from publishing “injurious falsehoods” about the QBCC and its staff.

An arrest warrant was issued after van Uden failed to appear in court.

On August 26 the court ordered van Uden to delete the social media accounts and refrain from further attacks on the QBCC.

In January this year the QBCC applied to the court to have van Uden punished for contempt after he failed to not only delete the accounts but continued his unhinged campaign after the court order.

The court heard 21 separate posts had been made to van Uden’s social media accounts between September 2020 and November 2020.

This included an Instagram post stating Mr Blumel “shouldn’t be fired, he should be drawn and quartered”.

In the same post he attacked Mr Blume’s wife who worked for a government department.

Judge Dreaden found van Uden guilty of two charges of contempt.

Marinus Hendrikus van Uden.

He agreed the contempts were “clearly and unequivocally wilful and contumacious”, “flagrant defiance” of the court’s authority and ongoing for almost a year at the time of conviction.

He sentenced van Uden to three months jail to be suspended after one month only if he deletes the social media accounts.