A sentencing hearing for a 37-year-old British man who admitted causing the death of his three-year-old son through a reckless or dangerous act has been postponed until Tuesday.
The defendant appeared before the Paphos District Court on Monday, where proceedings had been scheduled for mitigation submissions ahead of sentencing.
However, the hearing was adjourned after defence lawyer Alexandros Alexandrou requested additional time to submit supporting documents that will accompany the written mitigation plea.
Defence seeks additional evidence
According to Alexandrou, the defence intends to file a written submission outlining factors it believes should be taken into account by the court when determining sentence and arguing for the minimum penalty provided by law.
To support those arguments, the defence wishes to submit a number of documents and other relevant materials.
The lawyer told the court that, due to the time difference with the United Kingdom and the weekend, it had not been possible to obtain in time a document from the defendant's employer relating to his professional record and other relevant matters.
The defence therefore requested a one-day adjournment so the document could be included in the material supporting its mitigation arguments.
No objection from prosecution
The request was accepted by the court and was not opposed by prosecutor Chryso Perganti.
The case was rescheduled for 10.30am on Tuesday.
During the next hearing, the prosecution is expected to outline the facts of the case before the defence submits its written mitigation plea and presents oral arguments.
Defendant has admitted charge
The 37-year-old has already pleaded guilty to a charge of causing the death of his three-year-old son through a reckless, negligent or dangerous act.
The case concerns the death of the child after a fall of approximately 10 metres from the fourth floor of a hotel in Paphos on the family's first day of holiday in Cyprus.
The court has ordered that the defendant remain at liberty under the same conditions already imposed.
Earlier bid to halt prosecution rejected
It was recalled that during a previous hearing on 27 August, the defence had requested that the criminal prosecution be suspended on humanitarian grounds.
The request was rejected, with the Attorney-General acknowledging the tragic nature of the case while noting that this did not alter the fact that a three-year-old child had died.
Travel restrictions remain in place
The defendant had previously been allowed to travel temporarily to the United Kingdom after the court suspended his restrictive bail conditions to enable him to attend his son's funeral and deal with related administrative matters.
The suspension was in force from 7 August to 14 September.
Since 15 September, the original conditions have been reinstated, including:
- A €20,000 financial guarantee
- A ban on leaving the Republic
- Surrender of travel documents
- Weekly reporting to Paphos police
