Jailed grandfather taken to hospital

The 82-year-old man sentenced to jail for shooting a cable thief was admitted to Limassol general hospital on Tuesday, as the fate of his appeal remains unknown.

He reported severe heart pains, discomfort and hypertension, and was taken to the A&E department to undergo tests.

This is not the first time he has gone to hospital in recent months, after he was sentenced to 2.5 years for shooting a 64-year-old man, who had broken into his Alassa home to steal electricity cables.

The 82-year-old has been held at Limassol’s police station rather than the Nicosia central prisons, due to his health conditions.

His legal team has filed an appeal for the jail sentence.

President Nikos Christodoulides last month called on the legal service to issue him a pardon, which prompted a clash with the attorney-general.

The shooting had taken place in the Limassol village of Alassa last June. The 82-year-old exited his house during a power outage to check the main supply panel and took a hunting rifle and a cartridge with him for protection.

He then realised that someone else was on his property and winding an electric wire. He then approached the perpetrator and shouted at him, before firing a shot, which hit the thief in the back.

The thief was initially hospitalised but made a full recovery.

It was not the first time the 82-year-old had reported attempted electricity cable thefts at his home.