There’s nothing like government to take something beautiful and ruin it.

A prime example is the destruction of a hapless Lamborghini Murciélago by Taiwanese authorities because the owner flouted the law when importing it.

As Focus Taiwan reports, the owner was stopped in 2013 during a routine traffic stop and discovered to have illegally imported the car. The owner had affixed license plates registered to another vehicle in order to hide the fact that the Murciélago wasn’t registered.   

Under Taiwan’s Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, the car was impounded on the spot. Its owner has been filing appeals ever since to get it back but on Wednesday the authorities decided to destroy it as a deterrent against the illegal importation of cars.

Of course, a much better alternative would have been to put the car up for auction and donate all proceeds to a charity or even just keep the proceeds for expenses. But this is government we’re talking about so perhaps a little logic is asking too much.  

Watch the video at your own peril.