Cyprus Mail 24 February 2020 - article by George Psyllides
A 63-year-old man and his son, 33, were jailed for four and three months respectively on Monday over the death of a tourist who drowned in the swimming pool of a facility they operated in Ayia Napa in August 2014.
Their company was also fined €2,000.
The two men were charged in the death of Savvakis Georgiou Alexandrou, 18, from the UK, who had been found dead at the bottom of the pool in the morning of August 18, 2014.
A post mortem determined Georgiou had drowned while the consumption of alcohol was a contributing factor.
“He had previously consumed a quantity of alcohol, something which made his death quiet and imperceptible to others at the venue,” the court said.
In the pool area, the signs warning of the risk of using it after drinking, was an “oxymoron since the individuals the signs were addressing had a diminished perception of the risk because of the consumption of alcohol,” the court said.
The signs would probably be best likened to a fig leaf and not a safety measure, the court added.
The court further found that “use of the pool in the early morning hours was not only open to people who had previously consumed alcohol, but was effectively encouraged, from what was shown, as part of a package combining alcohol consumption and the pool’s operation.”
The court said revellers ended up at the pool in question in the early morning hours after leaving other night clubs, however, there were no lifeguards on duty.
“The defendants had created a dangerous situation due to the operation of a pool that was not tended by a lifeguard, in combination with the operation of an adjacent bar serving alcoholic drinks, without however, the necessary safeguards for the participants.”
“As a result of their … involvement, with their omissions, the defendants caused the death of Savvakis Alexandrou.”
