A LIMASSOL cabaret waiter was yesterday remanded in custody for four days on suspicion of beating a British man after he refused to pay a hefty bill.
Darren Jones told police he had been taken to the cabaret by a taxi driver who subsequently joined him at his table – without being invited — along with two artistes.
He had a beer but when he asked for the bill he was astonished to find out that it amounted to £750.
He refused to pay, arguing he had only drunk a beer, while the rest of the drinks had been consumed by the other three who were sitting at his table.
He then told the waiter he did not have so much money on him and asked the taxi driver to drive him to an ATM.
Jones told police, however, that he did so in a bid to escape.
When they got there, the waiter, Michalis Lazarou, tried to make the withdrawal himself using Jones’ credit card, but was unsuccessful.
It was at that point that Jones tried to flee but was assaulted by Lazarou, who hit him on various parts of his body, causing bruises and lacerations.
The men shoved him into the taxi and drove him back to the cabaret where they locked him in a room and demanded the money while snatching his three credit cards, Jones said.
He was then taken to the ATM again, where he withdrew £50 and gave them to Lazarou, who then left with the taxi driver.
Jones notified police, who arrested Lazarou and the cabaret director, who was later released due to lack of evidence.
Lazarou was remanded in custody for four days on suspicion of causing real bodily harm and demanding money using assaults and threats.
Police were yesterday seeking the taxi driver allegedly involved in the incident.
Police sources told the Cyprus Mail such cabaret scams were commonplace and that the particular cabaret had been investigated repeatedly in connection with similar complaints.
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.
