A police officer has been jailed for two years after he was found guilty of masturbating at a public beach in Protaras before the eyes of an underage boy.

The incident happened in August 2017, when the officer was 45.

The court heard that the defendant was seen masturbating in the presence of a 10-year-old boy. Two other minors who saw what was happening alerted their parents who chased the man and after pinning him down, notified his colleagues.

The officer was suspended since. He denied charges of sexually abusing a minor and engaging in an indecent act, but he was found guilty during trial.

The court expressed abhorrence over the defendant’s act, noting that the only fit sentence in such cases was immediate incarceration.