Police ask for laser pens to be banned

By Jean Christou

THE POLICE have written to the Attorney-general requesting a change in the law to halt the import of laser pointers.

According to sources in the customs department, the police also wrote to them, “explaining that these sort of toys have laser beams that are dangerous.”

“We also have a copy of a letter sent from the police to the Attorney- general asking for a change in the law to prohibit their importation,” one source said.

It is understood that a number of containers filled with laser pointers are currently at Limassol port awaiting clearance from Customs.

The initial request to ban the pointers came from the Commerce Ministry after complaints from the Consumers Association.

Sold as pens or key rings at toy shops and kiosks for around £10, the pointers project a high intensity laser beam for up to several metres.

It was reported several months ago that, if shone in the eyes, the laser beam could cause serious damage and even permanent blindness. The potentially dangerous toy faces a ban in the UK, where police and firemen have been victims of its misuse.

One recent incident in Cyprus had National Guardsmen on Green Line duty pointing the lasers at opposing Turkish Cypriot forces.

They also aimed them against UN patrols until a complaint from Unficyp to the National Guard put an end to the matter.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.