Tout bosses to face €3,500 fine

By Andria Kades

THOSE who hire touts could face a fine of up to €3,500, if a new bill discussed at the House legal affairs committee on Wednesday gets through.

“This is a phenomenon where in a country like Cyprus, that depends on tourism, has taken on worrying proportions and needs a law not just to limit this but to eliminate it,” committee chairman Sotiris Sampson said.

The bill, submitted by Sampson and fellow DISY MP Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis suggests employers, owners or managers of businesses with touts should be fined and not the touts themselves.

“They are the instigators and not the employee or someone offered a flat and food to do this job, while until a case reaches the courts they will be back in their country,” Sampson said.

Still in the initial stages, it has already garnered proposals by the legal services and the support of the justice and interior ministries, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, the Union of Communities and the Union of Municipalities.

“The current suggestion is to impose up to a €3,500 fine but this proposal is still in the initial stages,” while the possibility of a prison sentence was being considered, Sampson added.

Deputies were also examining how the bill could combat the common practice of people trying to gain clientele from car accidents such as garage owners or car repairers.

“The bill will cover every commercial operation. Anyone who behaves in this way over any aspects of social life will be committing an offence.”

AKEL MP Aristos Damianou said this was a trend that was a nuisance to society.

“We see the problems this phenomenon creates and have to realise that some things have worked a certain way for years and are not monitored in many countries, including developed states.”