Man sentenced after knife attack over money

A Syrian man who stabbed a fellow worker in Limassol over missing money has been sentenced to 9 years for attempted murder.

According to local media, a 26-year-old Syrian man was on Tuesday sentenced by a Limassol district judge to nine years in prison on attempted murder charges after he was found guilty of stabbing a 35-year-old construction worker.

Local media said the defendant, described as a Cypriot resident, had called the victim on the evening before the attack and asked him about missing money from a common fund amongst Syrian workers.

According to the victim, he told the defendant he had no idea about the missing money but the next day, while workers were on a lunch break, the argument continued.

The victim told investigators that the defendant had gone briefly outside the shed and spoke with someone on the phone. When the 26-year-old came back he sat next to the 35-year-old and asked him to send him data from his phone.

At that time, as the victim was trying to enter his password, he suddenly felt pain in his chess and the assailant hit him on the head before running away.

“That’s when I realized I was attacked, and I got out of the shed and asked my boss for help,” he said.

The victim was rushed to the Emergency Room at Limassol General Hospital and later transferred to Nicosia General due to a serious lung injury.

The defendant told authorities that he and the victim were friends, adding that he even paid 50 euro for the 35-year-old to get phone service under the 26-year-old man’s name.

Local media said the defendant was upset with the victim who had failed to pay his monthly dues for the phone bill.