Hunter remanded for torching game warden’s car

A 30-YEAR-OLD Limassol man is in remand after being charged with torching the car of the game warden who caught him hunting illegally.

Marios Demetriou, 47, told police his car was targeted because of his job, which is catching illegal hunters.

The incident took place in the early hours of Sunday, while Demetriou’s car was parked outside his Limassol residence in the Haraki area.

Demetriou was home when he saw his car on fire and immediately called the Fire Service, who came to extinguish the blaze. The car was completely destroyed.

Police examined the torched vehicle and concluded that the fire had been set intentionally using inflammable material that had been poured inside the vehicle, as well as on top of it.

In his statement to police, Demetriou named a 30-year-old hunter from Limassol who he believed to be behind the arson.

According to Demetriou, the man was seeking revenge after the game warden reported him to police for after being caught hunting at night using a searchlight.

After the incident, Demetriou told police that he had been receiving threatening telephone calls from the 30-year-old, leaving him certain that the Limassol man was behind the attack.

The 30-year-old suspect appeared before Limassol District Court yesterday, where a two-day remand order was issued.

In an unrelated incident, a second car was set on fire in Limassol in the early hours of yesterday. In this case, arsonists targeted a company vehicle parked outside the company’s offices.

The fire was noticed by area residents who alerted the Fire Service. However, the vehicle, worth €2,000, was destroyed completely. Police are investigating this case.