‘I’ll say I did it because I don’t want to go to trial’

A 54-YEAR-OLD man yesterday pleaded guilty to a crime he said he didn’t commit – simply because he couldn’t be bothered to go back to court.

The defendant, who was accused of gambling on Christmas Eve 2008, told Nicosia district judge Charalambos Charalambous: “I wasn’t playing [cards] but I confess so that I don’t have to come back here.”

The good natured judge explained that he couldn’t “punish” the 54-year-old if he hadn’t committed the crime.

“You can’t do that,” said Charalambous. “Many people are acquitted, you know, and it’s not a crime that you were there. The crime is if you were gambling.”

But the 54-year-old insisted that he did not want to have to return to court for a trial.

“I can’t [accept your plea] if you’re saying [you didn’t do it]. Change the plea from not guilty to guilty,” Charalambous instructed the prosecution.

“No, I plead guilty,” the 54-year-old interrupted.

“Either you were gambling or you weren’t,” said Charalambous.

“I was gambling,” the defendant said.

“So you apologise [to the court],” added Charalambous.

“Yes I apologise,” the 54-year-old said.

The judge finally fined the man €250 for his offence and let him go.

A guilty sentence for gambling carries a sentence of up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of €765.

Two other men were fined €250 and €200 for their involvement in the same incident.

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.