Victoria and Mark Kleeberg, Inga Vyacheslavovna White charged for breaching public health orders

A chiropractor who gave mask exemptions to the owners of a Bowral organic store charged for breaching Covid public health orders has been cross examined in court. See what he had to say.

The owners of an organic store that became an anti-mask / anti-vax hotspot in the Southern Highlands have continued their hearing for defying public health orders at the time, which involved not wearing masks in their shop, requesting others not to do so and telling vaccinated people to stay away.

Victoria and Mark Kleeberg, co-owners of The Organic Store in Bowral, as well as employee Inga Vyacheslavovna White, appeared at Moss Vale Local Court on Monday.

Mrs Kleeberg, 62, was charged with not wearing a fitted face mask in a retail shop and not providing details upon arrest; Mr Kleeberg, 63, was charged with not wearing a fitted face mask and Ms White, 42, with failing to wear a face mask on a business premises and not providing her name and address.

They have all previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A still from a video captured by a customer shows Mrs Kleeberg being escorted to the police wagon while Mr Kleeberg argues with police. The video of the violent arrest was widely shared on social media.

Videos were again played of police body-worn camera footage from Saturday July 1, 2021, when the three were arrested by officers from Southern Highlands Police Station, after receiving a call from a member of the community that the business was not complying with public health orders.

Three officers were cross-examined on Monday – all agreeing that there were signs on display at the store discouraging people to wear masks and for people to not enter if they were vaccinated.

Mrs Kleeberg was previously heard in the body-worn footage to identify the reason for her and her husband not allowing people with masks in, which was for “hygienic reasons” as “people touch their mask and then they touch the food and we do not want that.”

A sign which was outside The Organic Store.

Footage was also played of another incident at The Organic Store two days later on July 3, after there was a second complaint to the police, resulting in Mrs Kleeberg being arrested again.

Body-worn footage depicted several customers raising their voices at police officers, with one person saying “we have free will,” and another “what crime was committed? You guys are despicable”.

One male customer even said “remember the Nuremberg laws”, comparing Nazi ideology which persecuted Jews to mask-wearing during a pandemic.

When asked by Mr and Mrs Kleeberg’s lawyer, Mani Shishineh, why Mrs Kleeberg was arrested again instead of just fined, Senior Constable Scott Miller pointed to the “20 or 30” people in the store without masks, the signs around the store and previous arrests of the owners for the same thing.

“It was very clear that they wouldn’t be abiding by the legislation even if I gave her a fine,” Senior Constable Miller said.

Victoria and Mark Kleeberg and Inga Vyacheslavovna White (right) appeared at Moss Vale Local Court on June 6.

Throughout the hearing, Mr Shishineh stressed that his clients had medical exemptions, which they did not have to present to the officers.

The health practitioner who gave them their exemptions, Corrimal chiropractor Dr Carsen Tannberg, was cross-examined via audiovisual link.

The 92 year-old identified Mr and Mrs Kleeberg as having conditions that could be exacerbated by not “breathing properly”.

“His (Mr Kleeberg) neck was starting to bend backwards and that is a serious situation and can cause exhaustion, dizzy spells, and loss of concentration,” Dr Tannberg said.

“We granted him an exemption so he can breathe properly, and not be concerned with hypercapnia, as that increases exhaustion and lack of concentration.”

He identified Mrs Kleeberg to have ongoing headaches as a reason to exempt her.

“Her neck has major problems due to rigidity – breathing more and specific breathing exercises can help with your headaches, as it is all connected,” Dr Tannberg said.

“It is not a benefit to wear a mask, it would be detrimental, as it would create dizzy spells and lead to her passing out.”

The prosecutor questioned what respiratory conditions he was qualified to diagnose or treat, and Dr Tannberg said that he does not diagnose but has been trained to become aware of breathing problems, prevent them from getting worse and refer the patient to a medical professional.

When asked why Mr Kleeberg wasn’t referred due to his breathing, he said it’s because he got better and didn’t need to be referred.

The prosecutor suggested that Dr Tannberg wasn’t a fan of face-masks, to which he said “face masks have their place, but it depends on the type of work you do and the type of face masks you wear over an extended period of time”.

“Do you want me to work hard with a face mask? I can’t do that,” Dr Tannberg said.

He also referenced mask-induced exhaustion syndrome (MIES), which has not been medically confirmed.

Mr and Mrs Kleeberg’s matters as well Ms White’s were adjourned to June 20.

This included Mrs Kleeberg’s alleged participation in an unlawful outdoor anti-lockdown protest on August 31, 2021 in Moss Vale.