Taoufik Moalla was in his car, belting out his favourite song – a 1990s dance hit – when he suddenly found himself surrounded by four Montreal police officers.

The issue, it seemed, wasn’t his driving. Instead it was his passionate rendition of C+C Music Factory’s smash hit Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).

“They asked me if I was screaming. I said, ‘No, I was singing,’” the 38-year-old told the Montreal Gazette. “I was singing the refrain ‘Everybody Dance Now’, but it wasn’t loud enough to disturb anyone.”

The police demanded his license and registration and – after checking the inside of his car – handed him a C$149 ticket for “screaming in a public place”.

The infraction, based on a Montreal bylaw aimed at protecting peace and tranquility, made little sense to Moalla. He had left his home just minutes earlier and his windows had been mostly rolled up along the way, he said.

“I don’t know if my voice was very bad and that’s why I got the ticket, but I was very shocked,” he told CTV News. “I understand if they are doing their job, they are allowed to check if everything’s okay, if I kidnapped someone or if there’s danger inside, but I would never expect they would give me a ticket for that.”

Since receiving the ticket late last month, he said he had already begun the process of contesting it and was now waiting to hear back on a court date.

While he was left reeling from the incident, he said his wife had not been as surprised. “She told me, ‘If it was for singing, I’d have given you a ticket for $300.’”