A British hit-and-run driver has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in Cyprus for causing the death of a man after deliberately knocking him off his motorbike following a fight outside a nightclub.
The unnamed 46-year-old Briton was sentenced on Tuesday for the murder of Ioannis Polycarpou in Paphos in January 2023.
According to local reportsPolycarpou was at a local club in Paphos on January 21 when he got into an argument with the Briton.
The fight escalated dramatically as the night progressed. After leaving the nightclub, Polycarpou was riding his motorbike along Tombs of the Kings Avenue in Paphos when a car crashed into the back of his motorcycle.
A police car parked on the streets of Paphos, Cyprus. A British man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in Paphos for causing the death of a man after throwing him off his bicycle following a fight in a nightclub
Polycarpou was run over before the British driver fled the scene.
He was rushed to Paphos General Hospital but was tragically declared dead on arrival.
Hours later, the British man was found by police driving his car, which was apparently damaged from the previous night’s collision with the motorcyclist.
He is said to have tried to cover it up with spray paint. He was also tested for drugs, which came back positive.
The Briton was arrested and has remained in custody since his arrest.
He was initially charged with premeditated murder, but the charges were later reduced to manslaughter.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a heated argument led him to intentionally hit motorcyclist Polycarpou.
The tragic incident comes two years after another British man was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in a Cypriot prison after being accused of running over and killing a Swedish mother while driving a beach buggy in the holiday town of Ayia Napa, then fleeing the scene.
Manraj Singh Sidhu, 25, appeared in court for the alleged murder of Camilla Christina Pamdahl, 46, who suffered multiple injuries after being run over at a pedestrian crossing.
The man allegedly had five times the legal limit for driving and cannabis in his blood when he ran over the woman.
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