FOUR PEOPLE were seriously wounded after being stabbed in three separate incidents in Nicosia and Limassol at the weekend.
In Nicosia, a 43-year-old man was stabbed by a house party guest with a bayonet, while in Limassol a 28-year-old man attacked his 33-year-old flatmate with a kitchen knife.
On Sunday two 18-year-olds were injured by a 17-year-old when they went to collect wood for an Easter bonfire.
The Limassol incident took place in the early hours of Sunday after the two Ukrainian men had an argument over who would do the household chores. According to police, both men were intoxicated and while they were arguing the younger of the two pulled out a kitchen knife and stabbed the elder in the ribs.
The attacker then fled from the flat at Griva Digeni Street, while the victim staggered to a nearby restaurant to call for help.
“Our information from the restaurant’s owner is that a man, clutching his ribs and apparently wounded, entered his establishment,” said Andreas Kousioumis, Limassol Police Director.
When the restaurant owner called an ambulance, the victim disappeared, as both he and his flatmate were residing illegally in Cyprus, using fake Polish passports.
A police patrol car was sent to the area and police officers found the culprit wandering around in the area near Grivas Digenis street with blood stains on his face and clothes.
The 28-year-old initially told police that an unknown person had attacked his friend. Not convinced by his account, police went to their flat and retrieved the kitchen knife. The suspect subsequently admitted to the offence.
Meanwhile, the elder man was also tracked down and taken to Limassol General Hospital. He is receiving treatment for his wounds. Doctors said he is in a stable condition.
The 28-year-old was taken before Limassol District Court where an eight-day remand was issued, while a four-day remand was also issued against the victim for illegally residing in Cyprus. Both will be deported.
In a separate incident in Nicosia, a 43-year-old man’s birthday party at his Aglandjia house turned violent when a guest used a bayonet he had given as a gift to attack his host.
The party started at 7pm on Saturday, but violence erupted a few hours later when the guest took a knife from the table and tried to chop off his own fingers.
The host intervened to stop him, but the younger man grabbed another knife, which he used to cut his own finger and injure the hand of another guest.
The 43-year-old host became infuriated and asked the man to leave, but the young man hit him on the head with a bottle of vodka and used the bayonet stab him in the right arm.
“It appears that the bayonet was brought as a gift to the suspect a few hours earlier,” confirmed Thomas Efthymiou, Nicosia Police Officer.
The bayonet had a 40cm-long blade that remained stuck in the victim’s arm. A nurse managed to remove the blade from his arm while he was being transported to hospital by ambulance.
The man sustained other serious wounds, including broken ribs and cuts to the nose and face.
He is being kept at Nicosia General Hospital for treatment and his condition is serious but out of danger.
The 29-year-old was arrested and taken before court on Sunday, where a six day remand was issued. The suspect told police that he should not be imprisoned because he is going through drug rehabilitation treatment.
In yet another incident, a wood-collecting trip for this Saturday’s traditional Easter bonfire turned nasty when three Nicosia youths pulled out knives to settle their differences about where to the build the ‘lambradjia’.
A 17-year-old boy was yesterday charged and released in connection with the stabbing, which hospitalised two 18-year-olds, police said.
The incident occurred on Sunday night at Strovolos’ Constantinople Gymnasium.
An eyewitness said the incident had started with stone throwing which soon escalated into an all out bloodbath.
The father of one of the 18-year-old’s said his son came home covered in blood. He rushed the teen to Nicosia general hospital where the boy collapsed upon arrival. The uninjured youth was rushed to surgery where doctors operated for three hours.
The second 18-year-old was also admitted for treatment for less severe injuries.
State pathologist Sophoclis Sophocleous said the youths had suffered injuries from a sharp object, which police believe to be a knife used by the 17-year-old.
