British banking executive returns to Cyprus to face charges over toddler's fatal fall
A 37-year-old British banker flew back to Cyprus to answer a charge of causing death by a rash, reckless or dangerous act after his two-year-old son fell from a hotel window.
During a vacation at the King Evelthon Hotel in Paphos, a British father placed his two-year-old son on a fourth-floor windowsill, assuming the window was closed; it was not, and the child fell 33 feet to his death. The 37-year-old banking executive was detained for eight days, then released on bail of £25,750 and allowed to travel back to the Home Counties on humanitarian grounds to attend the funeral, which drew over 100 mourners.
The travel ban will expire tomorrow, requiring him to surrender his passport and appear in court in Cyprus on Thursday. His wife, a 38-year-old health professional, had already left the island with their daughter, who recently started Year One. Their Cypriot lawyer, Alexandros Alexandrou, has asked the attorney general, George Savvides, to drop the case on humanitarian grounds. The father's employer, one of the Big Four accountancy firms, continues to support him.
Why it matters
The case highlights legal scrutiny of tourist safety and parental responsibility in overseas hotels.
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