A 47-year-old Georgian national suspected of attempting to murder a 44-year-old in Mouttayiaka was remanded in custody for eight days by the Limassol district court on Saturday.

Police asked for the order to continue their inquiries into the attack, which took place at about 8am on Thursday at a construction site.

The suspect handed himself in at Limassol police headquarters on Friday morning.

In a written statement to investigators, he said the victim, also a Georgian national, approached him at work and insulted him over personal differences.

He claimed the man then punched him to the ground. The suspect reported he “accidentally” picked up a drywall cutter and swung his arms from side to side to protect himself.

He admitted the victim’s injuries came from the cutter, which he said he threw away. Officers found the cutter in a rubbish bin on a nearby street.

He insisted he “never meant to injure or kill” and “acted out of fear for his life”.

The injured man could not give a statement at first due to severity of his condition, and an interpreter was then hard to find. Police planned to take his statement after the court hearing.

He is being treated under guard at a private hospital.