Four teenage girls held over Ypsonas assault

FOUR Limassol girls aged between 17 and 19 were yesterday remanded in custody for four days in connection with the abduction, assault and infliction of grievous bodily harm of three 15-year-old girls.

The proceedings were held behind closed doors, but the four suspects are understood to have admitted to carrying out the assault, which police believe was motivated by a relationship one of the victims is alleged to have had with the boyfriend of one of the suspects.

The 15-year-olds claimed on Wednesday that four young women had forced them into their car and driven them to a remote area near the Ypsonas industrial estate.

The three girls alleged that two of them were tied to an electricity pylon while the third was bundled into the boot if the car.

The kidnappers then allegedly beat them and robbed them at knifepoint of a mobile phone worth £120, a packet of cigarettes, and £5 in cash.

The two girls were left tied to the pylon while the third was later dumped off in Zakaki.

The unprecedented incident of juvenile delinquency has sparked a public outcry, prompting the House Criminal Affairs Committee to put it on the agenda for discussion.

Committee chairman Costas Papacostas said juvenile delinquency had taken on worrying proportions and the state and society should study the matter in depth.

Justice Minister Alecos Shambos put the phenomenon down to the lack of proper education aimed at shaping children’s characters and urged society to work towards preventing youths from committing crimes.

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