In Brief
AIR-CRASH FRAUDSTER
Suspended sentence for man who said he got SMS from passenger A 32-year-old man who falsely claimed to have received a text message from a passenger on Sunday’s doomed Cypriot aircraft, yesterday received a six-month suspended prison sentence from an Athens court. Nektarios Voutas – who claimed to have received a text message from his cousin saying that the passengers on Helios Airways flight ZU522 had «frozen» and the pilot was «blue» – was found guilty of filing a false report. Voutas apologized for his behavior, claiming his mind «went blank.» Voutas’s wife told the court that her husband suffered from muscular dystrophy and had been under psychological strain due to their daughter’s poor health. MOSCHOLIOU SERVICE Fans pay their last respects Dozens of people yesterday attended a funeral service at Athens Cathedral for popular singer Vicki Moscholiou, who died at the age of 62 on Tuesday following a two-year battle with cancer. Friends and fans filed past the body of Moscholiou, which is to remain on display at the Cathedral until 3 p.m. today. The singer, whose husky voice came to characterize Greek popular music in the 1960s, is to be buried in a state funeral service at Athens’s First Cemetery at 4 p.m. today. Traditional settlements The protection of three traditional settlements near Mount Vardousia in the prefecture of Fokida is the goal of a draft presidential decree whose approval is being sought by Deputy Environment Minister Stavros Kaloyiannis, the ministry announced yesterday. The decree would impose restrictions on the size and exterior appearance of new buildings in the villages of Zoriano, Koupaki and Krokyli, the ministry said. Burnt plots Owners of plots of land destroyed by forest fire should contact the Town Planning Department of the Eastern Attica Prefect in order to apply for a license for burnt trees to be cut down, authorities said yesterday. Information about applications can be acquired by telephoning 210.603.3069 and 210.603.3070. Those with razed plots outside the town planning limits should contact the Pendeli forest inspection authorities. Product recall The General Consumer Secretariat said yesterday that it had ordered the withdrawal of 31 Kawasaki KVF quad bikes believed to have steering problems. Owners of the model in question should telephone local dealer Teomoto’s technical department at 210.341.0684 to arrange for a free technical check. The secretariat also recalled a series of Chinese-made mobile phone chargers amid concerns that their plastic casing could fall off after being plugged into electrical sockets. Consumers can call importer Nortonline Mobile Accessories at 2810.360.370 and 2810.360.470 for further details. Heroin dealer Police in Athens yesterday arrested a 39-year-old suspected heroin dealer after an officer posed as a potential supplier. The undercover officer, who had arranged to meet the suspected dealer on the pretext of buying the drug from him, arrested him with the help of colleagues who appeared during the exchange of money. A search of the suspect’s home unearthed 7.5 kilos of heroin. He was to face a prosecutor yesterday. Kozani fire A church in the small town of Aiani, in the northern prefecture of Kozani, was completely destroyed yesterday after a fire broke out, the local fire service said. It is unclear what provoked the blaze, according to firemen, who eventually extinguished it.
