def _to_date_in_588(date_str):
    """
    Convert date in the format ala 03.02.2017 to 3.2.2017.

    Viz #100 for details.
    """
    try:
        date_tokens = (int(x) for x in date_str.split("."))
    except ValueError:
        return date_str

    return ".".join(str(x) for x in date_tokens)