Foreigner who broke into former boss's house, stole phone and slept off in the kitchen sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison

A foreign national who was arrested and detained in north Cyprus for stealing and living illegally in the TRNC without a resident permit has been sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison by a local court. 

The judgement by the Lefkosia judicial court was delivered on Wednesday, January, 17, 2024.

The suspect named only as F.M., from Uzbekistan broke into a residence located on Alayköy at around 6:00pm on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023.

He was arrested an taken to court on charges of breaking into a house, theft, property violation and illegal residency.

Police said the suspect drank a bottle of 35 cc Altın Efe raki after entering through the open door of the garden of the house belonging to his former boss.

The suspect, while under the influence of alcohol, took a wooden-handled bread knife, forced and opened the building aluminum sliding door without damaging it, and stole a iPhone Xs mobile phone on the bedside table in the children's room on the upper floor of the residence. 

He then went downstairs to the kitchen room and slept on the floor.

He was arrested by police team who came to the scene following a complaint. The mobile phone and bread knife in question were taken as evidence during the search.

Police said that the arrested suspect admitted in his statement that he had entered the same house before because he had no place to stay, and that he had also stolen a vacuum cleaner and sold it to a person in Lefkosia.

It was also determined that the suspect had stayed in the country without a residence permit for 172 days.

Delivering the judgment, the judge pointed out that theft crimes are becoming increasingly common and disturbing the peace of the society. He also emphasized that the defendant remained in the country without a residence permit and announced that they unanimously sentenced him to 3 years and 6 months in prison.