Covid Fines

[boycott]

Today two close friends of mine who do not live together were driving in Limassol town centre and one guy was not wearing his mask and the driver had his mask around his chin (he was vaping at the time) when they were stopped by the Police for not wearing masks.

The officer never asked for any explanation but €300 tickets were issued to each person.

However they having spoken to 4 different Cypriots they had had 4 different bits of advice as to what to do!

First Cypriot says do not pay as it was a handwritten fine as opposed to a machine ticket and the Cypriot courts have said that this is not lawful.

Second one says fine goes up after 30 days and then goes up again etc.

Third one who is a lawyer albeit in civil law says, do not pay it at it is unlawful, the fine when €100 was lawful but when they increased it to €300 it did not go before parliament so is not lawful and wait for it to go to court and that will take between 3 to 5 years.

Fourth one says dont pay it and sit it out.

Does anyone have a) experience of getting a Covid ticket and what did they do? And b) any definite legal advice as what to do?

Both persons fully accept that they should have been wearing the masks but of course needless to say do not wish to pay the €300 if they do not have to.

[Diocletian]

The Lawyers response was telling. I understand that almost all Covid19 restrictions have been the result of Decree's and therefore not processed by the Parliament. It is symptomatic of the way the Republic operates , that is to say, outside of their own Constitution and in part responsible for much of the alleged 'shady' deals done in recent years.

[WHL]

Ask a hundred people get a hundred different answers, the fine will not go away, pay it and put it down to experience, I was talking to a lady yesterday who honestly forgot to send a message before going out, and was stopped coming out of a supermarket, she got a 300e fine.

[trevnhil]

I must admit i too have forgotten to get permission once before going out.. I corrected the error whilst I was out.. I have also forgotten to put my mask on, and had to dash back to the car for one..

[WHL]

I must admit i too have forgotten to get permission once before going out.. I corrected the error whilst I was out.. I have also forgotten to put my mask on, and had to dash back to the car for one..

Ive done the same, the other week I run into a supermarket to get a couple of things, and while In there I realised I never put the mask on, so I picked up a packet of masks while in the store and put one on.

[Lincoln]

Pay the fine asap. After 14 days the fee go's up dramatically if not paid.

[Kili01]

Ooh ahh, Trev, you aren't the only one who has forgotten, I use the form, but left it at home accidentally. And yes, I have also forgotten on occasion to put my mask on before leaving the car. Not proud of this but I find that I am getting more and more forgetful....

I wish that the SMS/ form B permissions could be scrapped. At present no doubt its providing extra revenue for the Govt, Its also keeping the police tied up by trying to enforce it.

Dee

[trevnhil]

How do you get around the SMS permissions.? You are allowed two a day.

[The Aquila]

Use the paper first which gives you 3/4 hours..... then send a message which give another 3/4 and then another message afterwards so with a bit of luck and good wind will give you up to 12 hours.

[Dominic]

Given that only old people can use the paper system, I find it quite appalling that they would exploit it to give them freedom denied to younger people who are much less vulnerable to the illnesss and are forced to use these measures for the sake of the elderly.

[bmwx5]

The sms which allows 3 hrs maximum regardless of the " reasonable amount of time " is not sufficient in most cases with large families especially teenagers , ok school runs don't need an sms but dropping off and picking up at the harbour, old town and Mall do, golf takes more than 3 hrs so they have been advised send 2 sms texts one going there and one leaving... A friend was telling people only Greece and Cyprus and implementing the SMS , forms and revenue collected so far is in region of 9 million EU not sure of the figure but I am sure there are records on some website. If your under 65 yrs old you don't have the luxury of the paper form and a couple of people I know sent the SMS just before been checked but the police looked at the post code and time sent and the location of the check and didn't fall for it and issued a fine and the other person a warning

[Dominic]

The sms which allows 3 hrs maximum regardless of the " reasonable amount of time " is not sufficient in most cases with large families especially teenagers , ok school runs don't need an sms but dropping off and picking up at the harbour, old town and Mall do, golf takes more than 3 hrs so they have been advised send 2 sms texts one going there and one leaving... A friend was telling people only Greece and Cyprus and implementing the SMS , forms and revenue collected so far is in region of 9 million EU not sure of the figure but I am sure there are records on some website. If your under 65 yrs old you don't have the luxury of the paper form and a couple of people I know sent the SMS just before been checked but the police looked at the post code and time sent and the location of the check and didn't fall for it and issued a fine and the other person a warning

Come off it, 3 hours is plenty of time. And regarding golf, the simple solution is to go for a walk instead.

[Dominic]

Use Form A. But make one daily.

One of the Sri Lankan guys who does some work for me (registered etc etc ) was stopped in Sklavenides (with his friend) by 2 plain clothes police orificers.
Each of the SriLankans had an earlier phone permission one 3-5 hours and one 3 hours. The policemen simply walked up to them ignoring every other shopper and demanded their phones, but rather than speaking Greek, English, Sri Lankan were making disgusting 'monkey type' noises and using hand gestures to get the phone. They issued a fine to one guy stating the 'reasonable' time had elapsed.

Sadly even hand written and with a cops number there is no external proof or verification to be able to follow through on these people.

If the police are willing to take on the poisoned chalice that the politicians give them, they will have to be mindful how it is done..

How did they manage to convey that the time had elapsed using monkey noises? And why did it take them 3 hours before they got to the shop they were going to?

[WHL]

Use Form A. But make one daily.

One of the Sri Lankan guys who does some work for me (registered etc etc ) was stopped in Sklavenides (with his friend) by 2 plain clothes police orificers.
Each of the SriLankans had an earlier phone permission one 3-5 hours and one 3 hours. The policemen simply walked up to them ignoring every other shopper and demanded their phones, but rather than speaking Greek, English, Sri Lankan were making disgusting 'monkey type' noises and using hand gestures to get the phone. They issued a fine to one guy stating the 'reasonable' time had elapsed.

Sadly even hand written and with a cops number there is no external proof or verification to be able to follow through on these people.

If the police are willing to take on the poisoned chalice that the politicians give them, they will have to be mindful how it is done..

Ive read some Corkers over the years, but this beats the lot

[WHL]

https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/03/31/coro ... auCMr-7RNI

[bmwx5]

As Mark Twain once said Golf it a good walk spoilt but for those who love the game it does take more than 3 hrs !!

[Uncle D]

Cops are the same the world over

[boycott]

[quote="Uncle D" post_id=134102 time=1617209081 user_id=393]
Cops are the same the world over


Err you are so so wrong on that

[WHL]

Nothing amusing about monkey noises, but I find it hard to believe two coppers, in amongst a crowd of shoppers, go up to a couple of chaps, and dont talk to them rather they make monkey noises, really in a crowded supermarket, heres the thing, all supermarkets are covered by cctv, very easy for the said policeman's actions to be confirmed , if they actually committed these actions, tell your two chaps to go to the nearest police station and make a formal complaint, if they don't want to, then tell them to get in touch with an immigrants support group , KISA 22 878181 will take it up for them

[The Aquila]

Probably correct Lloyd as this decree ends on 30 April