A VIETNAMESE man was yesterday sentenced to nine years’ jail for masterminding the armed robbery of a mini-market in the Strovolos area of Nicosia.
Le Xuan Xieu, 23, yesterday listened without emotion as Nicosia Judge Yiasemis Yiasemi imposed a sentence of nine years on him.
Three men, also from Vietnam, Luu Tuan Anh, 23, Tran Van Chien, 22, and Nguyen Van Duc, 26, were given lesser sentences for their part in the armed robbery, which left the mini-market owner seriously injured and almost blind in one eye.
All four men had previously been found guilty by the Nicosia Court of robbing the Dracumel mini-market in the early hours of December 21 last year, viciously attacking owner Leonidas Aresti, who was counting the day’s earnings at his desk at the time, with a spanner before tying him up with scotch tape and wire.
They then proceeded to rob his shop whilst Aresti lay bleeding unconscious on the floor.
The culprits then tied him up before escaping with cash, cigarettes and mobile telephone SIM cards amounting to a value of around £8,500.
Aresti was found shortly afterwards by his daughter who called an ambulance and the police.
Xieu, Anh and Chien were found guilty of charges relating to armed robbery, assault and causing grievous bodily harm whilst Duc was found guilty of charge of breaking and entering and theft of Dracumel.
All men, who are students at a Nicosia college, were also found guilty of robbing other kiosks and mini-markets around the island netting around £8,000 in stolen goods and cash.
Officers had previously arrested five other Vietnamese nationals, including two women, all believed to have been connected to the gang targeting kiosks around the island.
But they were released without being charged after they named the four defendants as the ones committing the actual robberies.
During raids on the apartments of Xieu, Anh, Chien and Duc, police found items such as cigarette cartons and condoms, previously stolen from several kiosks.
The men’s defence lawyers had previously told the court that their clients were from poor, third-would countries and had come to Cyprus to seek a better life for themselves.
The lawyer representing Chien and Duc, Marios Georgiou, had added, “Unfortunately, they chose the wrong way to reach that goal.”
Jailing Xieu yesterday, Judge Yiasemi said, “The torturous and brutal way in which the first defendant [Xieu] attacked Aresti made him scared for his life. Such criminal activities are of a particularly serious nature and can create a climate of fear and tension but especially a fear of insecurity for the residents of a nation.”
With regards to the actions of all the defendants, the judge added that “the strict penalty for such crimes is necessary to ease the fears felt by the public.”
Anh, Chien and Duc were jailed for five, three and eight months respectively.
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