A POLICEMAN who recently reported a high-level state official for using his mobile phone while driving was forced to alter his statement and let the man off with a mere warning.
The official came forward on MEGA last night, the channel that ‘broke the story’ on Tuesday.
Savvas Matsas, a lawyer with the state legal services, said publicly: “The state official was me, I am not hiding”
“There was a lot of traffic, I was in my car and I stopped it at the entrance of the church, my mobile phone rang and I answered and told them that I was at the funeral and told them to call my colleague Ninos Kekkos. I hung up the phone and drove into the field next to the church,” he said.
Asked whether he was angry about getting the fine, Matsas said: “I told the policeman that I did not commit an offence because he initially told me to move from the private property I was on, he never told me I was fined for speaking on the mobile phone illegally which I wasn’t. My car was stopped”.
“I did not create a fuss and did not try to get away with it. I have a son called Andreas who recently got a speeding ticket and when he asked me what was he going to do, I told him to pay for it because it wouldn’t be right to erase it. I never ask for such fines to be erased. All I did was call a police lieutenant who is a friend of mine and mentioned the incident. The police officer who fined me made a mistake”
The Head of Traffic police Demetris Demetriou had told MEGA on Tuesday the ticket had been a mistake because Matsas – although he did not name him at the time – was driving in a field next to the cemetery.
Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said yesterday he wasn’t aware of the case, but if it was true, it was strongly condemnable. “Everyone is equal in the eyes of the law and have the same rights and equal obligations,” he said.
MEGA reported on Tuesday that the ‘state official’ had verbally attacked assaulting the policeman in question, and according to the channel’s sources, the policeman was pressured by his superiors to state in writing that he had made a mistake.
The same sources said the €111 fine was not only reversed, but it was done within minutes of being issued. MEGA showed the documents, one which cited €111 for the fine and then a second showing the fine as €0.
Demetriou denied on MEGA that the law was stricter for some than for others. “The same law applies to everyone,” said Demetriou. “I remember the case. The policeman was on duty to ease traffic during a memorial service outside the Constantinos and Eleni cemetery in Nicosia.”
Demetriou added: “The policeman had indeed issued a fine by mistake to a state official. The specific person was in an open private area, in a field next to the church. The warning had nothing to do with this person’s position. These things happen; fines are sometimes issued and then deemed a mistake.”
Demetriou could not be reached for further comment yesterday.
