A tattoo artist from Halland in western Sweden is facing criminal charges after signing his own name on a woman’s stomach. The tattooist is to appear in court on charges of causing wilful bodily harm, Hallands Nyheter reports.
The woman had first come to him some months previously following a recommendation from a friend. In memory of a dead family member, she asked the artist to draw a heart accompanied by the caption: “You will always be in my heart“.
Delighted with the outcome, she returned to the tattoo parlour to have the name of her loved one added to the original tattoo. The man then asked if he could instead write his own name as a means of advertising his services. The woman claims that she declined the offer. But when the job was done she found that he had gone ahead with his plan.
“I was shocked and taken aback,” she told Hallands Nyheter. She says the only way she can now get rid of the tattoo is through laser surgery, which she expects to leave her scarred. But the tattooist denies committing an offence, claiming instead that his customer gave her consent. “She said yes. I then asked her at least five more times,” he told police.