By George Psyllides
POLICE yesterday told a Nicosia court how two Chinese suspects doused two compatriots with petrol and threatened to torch them if they did not pay up the money they allegedly owed.
The two men, who are students at a Nicosia college, were arrested yesterday after their car was seen moving suspiciously in a military area near the village of Dhali.
Chen Xin, 21, a stocky man with short peroxide blond hair, and 22-year-old He Xin, a short slender individual with black short hair and reddish highlights, looked bewildered as they took their place in the dock while police investigator Demetris Demetriou painstakingly went through a list of 13 alleged offences with the help of two translators – Chinese to English and English to Greek.
Police said they were investigating 13 possible offences, including attempted murder, abduction with intent to commit premeditated murder, grievous bodily harm, conspiracy to commit felony and a string of other lesser wrongdoings.
The court heard that soldiers manning the buffer zone in the Potamia area near Dhali had noticed a car moving suspiciously at around 2.30pm on Thursday.
The soldiers intercepted the car while police arrived on the scene to find the two suspects along with a third Chinese man, Chang Hao, who was bleeding in the back seat.
Police said Chen was driving the Nissan Sunny while He was sitting at the back with Chang.
The three were taken to a nearby police station were it was determined that the number plates on the car had been stolen from Paphos, from a Pajero belonging to a Cypriot.
Police found that the Nissan belonged to another Chinese man and should have been carrying visitor’s number plates.
The court heard that customs were searching for the specific car to confiscate it.
Police said they found bloodstains on the back seat of the car, as well as two large military-style knives, a steel crowbar and pieces of wood with blood on them.
The suspects claimed Chang’s injuries were caused after he fell from his bicycle, but this was disputed by state pathologist Sophocles Sophocleous, who after examining Chang, determined his wounds had been inflicted by a cutting instrument, probably a knife.
According to Chang’s testimony, he was in the yard adjacent to the Intercollege library with his roommate on Tuesday, when they were allegedly assaulted by the suspects, wielding bottles containing petrol.
Police told the court the suspects allegedly doused their two compatriots and tried to set them alight.
They subsequently allegedly assaulted them with knives, inflicting multiple injuries on Chang, who was stabbed 11 times.
The incident was noticed by passers-by, forcing the suspects to drag the victims into the car, which had been in Chang’s possession, and drive them outside Nicosia.
During the trip, the suspects again doused Chang and his roommate with petrol and threatened to torch them.
They returned them to their flat, where they forced themselves in, and allegedly stole Chang’s passport and laptop.
At noon on Thursday, the two suspects visited Chang again and Chen allegedly tried to stab him. Chang defended himself using a blanket as a shield.
He was then dragged out of the house and carried to the area where they were later caught by the soldiers.
Police said the suspects had testified that Chang owed them $15,500 among other things.
Chang’s roommate, who fled from their flat, was also being sought, police said.
His name as been placed on the stop list to prevent him from fleeing the country, police told the Cyprus Mail.
Both Chang and his roommate are staying on the island illegally.
They had been registered as students but were stricken off the list after repeatedly failing to show up for class.
The car belonged to a friend of Chang’s who had allegedly told him he got the plates after paying its duties.
Asked if they objected to the police request for their remand Chen replied he was hungry and assured the court that he could not flee the island if he was released because his passport had been seized by authorities.
Judge Michalis Papamichael remanded the pair in custody for eight days but only after a time consuming effort to explain to them the proceedings and their rights, losing his patience as he wondered whether the suspects did not understand the procedures or were pretending not to.
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.
