Blame it on the credit crunch

BLAME it on the credit crunch: a Nicosia petrol station was cleaned out after (not so) clued-up folks took advantage of a broken pump to fill up their tanks for free. A police officer was among the upstanding citizens.

The incident took place last Wednesday evening lasting until the early morning hours of Thursday, during which time 2700 liters of petrol worth some €2200 were given ‘on the house’.

But according to Politis, which broke the story, most of the pilferers were not wise to the fact they were being filmed—despite a clear sign warning that the premises were being monitored by a CCTV system.

A few did take precautions, wearing balaclavas to hide their face or even removing the license plates from their cars.

All in all, there were 93 cases of fuel-pinching, although the scroungers included a number of repeat offenders who came back for more or brought their friends.

In one case, a young lady was seen filling her own car, then returning to the scene with friends, whom she had evidently alerted to the good news. This was repeated five or six times; on one occasion, the visibly excited girl gave her boyfriend a kiss.

Word of the giveaway spread like wildfire, and at one point people were lining up at the station to fill up their tanks.

Apparently the fuel rush was started by a policeman. Instead of trying to get in touch with the owner of the petrol station, the police officer turned scavenger, helping himself to the pump.

The man subsequently sent his Chinese employees, armed with buckets, to get in on the act.

A few days after the incident, and having seen the footage, the owner of the station recognised some of the employees when he spotted them walking nearby. Under questioning, the employees admitted that they had been sent by their “boss”, the policeman in question.

Police have reportedly tracked down a number of the freeloaders, who will be brought in for questioning.

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.