Cyprus hotel managers jailed six years after death of UK tourist
A father and son who managed an apartment complex in Ayia Napa have been jailed over the death of a tourist from the UK, which occured almost six years ago.
Eighteen-year-old British Cypriot Savvakis Georgiou Alexandrou, was found dead at the bottom of the pool in the morning of August 18, 2014.
A post mortem determined he had drowned, while the consumption of alcohol was a contributing factor.
Following the death, investigators deemed both the holiday apartment and swimming pool to be illegal.
Investigator Michalis Charalambous questioned why the establishment was operating if it had no permit from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), why the pool was operating if there was no permit for it, why there was no lifeguard, particularly as there was a bar next to the pool and why the pool was so dirty that its bottom could not be seen.
The managers – a man and his son, aged 63 and 33 years respectively at the time of the accident – were found guilty earlier this month of causing the death through reckless action.
The court found signs warning of the risk of using the pool after drinking, was an ‘oxymoron since the individuals the signs were addressing had a diminished perception of the risk because of the consumption of alcohol’, the court said.
It added the signs would probably be best likened to a fig leaf and not a safety measure, the court added.
The court further found that ‘use of the pool in the early morning hours was not only open to people who had previously consumed alcohol, but was effectively encouraged, from what was shown, as part of a package combining alcohol consumption and the pool’s operation’.
It said revellers ended up at the pool in question in the early morning hours after leaving other night clubs, however, there were no lifeguards on duty.
"The defendants had created a dangerous situation due to the operation of a pool that was not tended by a lifeguard, in combination with the operation of an adjacent bar serving alcoholic drinks, without however, the necessary safeguards for the participants.
"As a result of their … involvement, with their omissions, the defendants caused the death of Savvakis Alexandrou," the court concluded.
Cyprus media reports Famagusta district court jailed the father and son for four and three months respectively. The company they worked for has been fined €2,000. Neither the pair, nor the apartment complex, were named in media reports.
Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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