Suspect who escaped Athalassa mental hospital arrested again

A man who was arrested on credit card fraud charges, and transferred to a mental health facility for psychiatric evaluations, walked out free after doctors did not find any reason to keep him.

According to daily Phileleftheros, a 44-year-old suspect was arrested on Monday following complaints that he defrauded a commercial store by canceling purchases and falsely crediting his account.

Limassol police, who arrested the man, took him to Nicosia’s Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital for a mental health evaluation, where doctors determined he was in no need of treatment and sent him on his way.

Knews could not verify whether the man escaped detention or simply walked out of a mental health facility legally. It was understood that Limassol police issued a warrant for his arrest, following his escape from Athalassa.

On Wednesday, the suspect attempted to withdraw money from an ATM where he was recognised and arrested again by police. He is expected to appear in court for his remand hearing.

Previously, the man also pretended to have a disability in another case, asking store employees to transfer goods to a location while managing to use a credit card with insufficient funds. When store managers realised the credit card numbers he had given them were problematic, he was nowehere to be found.