Police released a statement on Wednesday afternoon after shocking footage of a man in Limassol verbally and physically abusing a delivery driver sparked public outrage on social media.

In their statement police said that the perpetrator and his car were being sought and confirmed that the video footage involved a 19-year-old delivery driver in Limassol, who had filed a complaint about the incident shortly after 7pm on Tuesday.

Police also said that the delivery worker had not reported injuries from the abuse which happened after he allegedly collided with the attacker’s car.

The video shows a Greek Cypriot man yelling at the delivery driver in both English and Greek before striking him across the face with a navigation tablet. Disturbingly, bystanders and passersby appear to ignore the scene entirely, walking past without intervening.

The video was shared with Cyprus Mail by a reader who said, “I came across the footage on TikTok and felt compelled to act against this total lack of humanity.”

Sammy Kandel, a Nepalese national currently living in New Zealand, who previously studied for three years at a hospitality college in Cyprus, tagged the Cyprus police in the video, a move later replicated by numerous other viewers.

The video, titled “Limassol today,” captures the attacker shouting aggressively at the visibly stunned foreign delivery driver, who stands astride his electric bicycle.

The man accuses the driver of damaging his car and demands immediate payment. “Now! You give me €400 now! Tora! €400 now! Now! You hit my car, yes or no? Pay me damage now!” he yells, seizing the driver’s electronic navigation device.

Another foreign delivery driver pulls in beside the victim and can be heard speaking about calling the police, while the Cypriot yells at him to go away.

The aggressor then hits the delivery driver across the face with the tablet, saying, “You want to call police? When you want this, give me 400!” before getting into his car and starting it up, taking the tablet with him.

Asked if they were aware of the incident and the footage, in which the abuser’s car license plate is clearly visible, Limassol CID informed the Cyprus Mail that the case was being investigated by the minor offences department.

Assaults and robberies against delivery drivers, at times with racist undertones, have been tarnishing the image of Limassol and other parts of the island for several years.

Since last week three incidents of muggings against delivery drivers had been reported, one in Larnaca and two in Limassol.

Last August drivers went on a three-day strike in protest of the surge in violence against them.
“Everyone is afraid to do their job,” delivery driver Rajesh had told the Cyprus Mail. He said it was “an everyday occurrence” for drivers to be ambushed, robbed, and insulted.

“We’ve had eggs thrown at us, glass bottles smashed on our helmets, our bikes stolen. We can’t continue like this.”