Woman accused of starting fire while flatmates slept
A WOMAN deliberately started a fire in an apartment in Gönyeli while her flatmates were asleep because of a row she had with one of them, a court heard on Tuesday.
The residents of the flat were reportedly saved when they were awoken by neighbours – who had seen smoke coming from the property – banging on their front door.
Belongings in the room were completely destroyed by the fire, which was extinguished by the Lefkoşa Fire Brigade, while other rooms were partially damaged.
The 24-year-old suspect, referred to by the initials “İK”, who was arrested on charges of “setting belongings in a building on fire” and “intentional damage”, was brought to Lefkoşa District Court for a bail request hearing.
During the hearing held before Judge Mine Ozankaya, prosecutor Volkan Kayabaş called police officer Coşkun Altındağlı, who works in the Lefkoşa Police Department, as a witness.
Officer Altındağlı testified that because of the “animosity” with flatmate “YS”, suspect İK “deliberately and illegally” threw a lit cigarette onto YS’s bed at around 6.45 am on October 10, causing a fire at the apartment she rented in the Abbas Demir block on Kuzucuk Sokak.
The police officer explained that YS and another person identified as MZA, who were in the property at the time of the fire, were initially considered as suspects along with İK.
Officer Altındağlı told the court that camera footage at the incident scene showed that İK had left the apartment with a suitcase shortly before the fire took hold.
He noted that on the same day İK stated that she “wanted to tell everything” and “confessed her crimes” during questioning.
YS and MZA were released after it was determined that they had “no connection” with the apartment fire.
Stating that the investigation against İK has been completed, officer Altındağlı asked that the suspect – said in court to be a Moroccan citizen who had entered the TRNC on a student visa – be released on bail.
Judge Ozankaya ordered the suspect be released on bail pending trial with the conditions that she is banned from leaving the TRNC, pays a 5,000TL cash bond, that a guarantor who is a TRNC citizen signs a 150,000TL surety bond, and that she presents herself to the nearest police station in person once a week.