Pardon for disgraced water chief

By Martin Hellicar

DISGRACED former Water Development Department (WDD) director Lakis Christodoulou was enjoying Good Friday with his family yesterday after securing an early release from jail.

Christodoulou, who had been serving a six-month sentence after being convicted on eleven charges of abuse of authority, was one of 40 prisoners granted Easter pardons by President Glafcos Clerides earlier this week.

The top civil servant, who was sentenced on December 29, walked free almost two months early. He had been due for release on May 20.

Prison authorities said relieving prison congestion was one of the main reasons for the decision to release convicts early. Nicosia Central Prison has a capacity of 220, and even after the 40 early releases, it currently has 270 inmates.

All 40 pardoned prisoners had been due for release by June, and none was a long-term convict. The president traditionally grants a number of Easter and New Year pardons.

Christodoulou’s high-profile trial began after police caught WDD employees and machinery being used on the building site of the water chief’s luxury out-of-town mansion on May 20 last year.

After a lengthy police investigation, Christodoulou was tried before the Nicosia District Court on a total of 29 charges of abuse of authority, deceit and attempting to interfere with a police investigation.

After initially denying all charges, he eventually pleaded guilty to the 11 charges of abuse of authority. The other 17 charges were dropped.

During the trial, senior WDD technician Sophoclis Nicolaou told the court his boss considered getting his subordinates to moonlight for him to be “one of the perks of his job”. Nicolaou said Christodoulou had repeatedly asked him to provide departmental employees to work on his home near the new GSP stadium outside Nicosia.

Christodoulou was suspended after the police enquiry was launched, and he lost his job when he was convicted.

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