By Charlie Charalambous
TWO LONDON Stockmarket runners fined £600 each yesterday for making false insurance claims are alleging that their confessions were beaten out of them by Ayia Napa police.
Matthew Lowman and Nicholas West, both 19, from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, were fined by a Larnaca court for making a false claim about the theft of a few pairs of jeans and a bottle of aftershave from their Ayia Napa hotel.
West, who earns £20,000 a year as a runner for Association Générale in the City, was fined for falsely claiming that a £30 bottle of aftershave and a £50 designer shirt had been stolen from him.
Lowman, who earns £15,000 a year as a TRX Futures employee, was fined £600 for falsely stating that a pair of £76 Armani jeans, a pair of £50 Levis, and £83 in cash had been stolen from his room.
The tourists pleaded guilty to making a false claim, but they later said they had no choice but to sign a confession that was put in front of them.
“I was hit about ten times in a separate room in the presence of three CID officers,” West claimed after the court decision.
The teenagers then described how they were allegedly treated when they entered Ayia Napa police station at 10pm last Monday.
“Some of our belongings were stolen, so we went straight to the police thinking they would help us, but we made a big mistake,” said Lowman.
West said that their friend Paul Clark, 19, from Chigwell, Essex, who allegedly had five pairs of jeans stolen, was not asked to file a complaint.
West claimed the Ayia Napa duty sergeant had accused them of lying before they could even explain what had happened.
“As soon as I mentioned insurance, he said: ‘if you’re lying I will put you in jail’,” Lowman claimed.
Ayia Napa police deal with hundreds of insurance claims every year, mainly from British tourists, with a high incidence of false claims.
Both teenagers claim they were made to sign pre-written police confessions, to which they allegedly agreed under heavy duress and threats.
“I saw Nicholas being slapped in the face before they took him away. I was shouted at by six police officers; I’m only 19, it scared the crap out of me,” Lowman said.
The two tourists said that after a few hours of hostile questioning, they were willing to sign anything and admit their guilt.
“They (police) gave us a statement and told us to sign it, which we did,” said Lowman.
The next day, Lowman and West claim they were taken back to Ayia Napa police station and made to sign a second statement, saying they did not wish to change their admission of guilt.
During yesterday’s brief court hearing, the tourists’ Cypriot defence lawyer, George Midis, hinted that police methods might have been unorthodox, although he did not make any specific allegations of brutality.
“My clients are disappointed at the behaviour towards them by the police,” Midis told the court.
Judge Tefkros Economou replied sternly:
“It is the court which should be disappointed, because we can’t allow people to make fools of the police; maybe a jail term will help them get over their disappointment, so I urge you to withdraw the statement.”
The lawyer agreed to retract the statement.
Last August, the police ordered an investigation into allegations by British tourists that Famagusta CID terrorised confessions out of them.
Andrew Esqulant and Lester Brown, both 19 and from Bexley in Kent, claimed they had been coerced into making confessions about filing false insurance claims.
Esqulant’s stolen credit card was used while he was in police custody.
And his father Tony confirmed yesterday from the UK that the insurance company had paid up in full, despite the Cyprus court’s decision to fine them £280 each for making a false claim last year.
The police investigation cleared Famagusta CID of any wrongdoing.
