Around Slovakia

Kids caught in beer halls
All gone
Fool-proof car immobiliser
Russian robber takes bus tickets and smokes
Marihuana - a cure for addiction
Two birds with one shot
Robber needs training
Thou shalt not steal
Guilty train still unknown

Ilava
Kids caught in beer halls

DURING regular patrols of local bars, police discovered it was common for minors to be served alcohol and stay out late without their parents becoming concerned.
In one beer hall in Ilava the police found a 16-year-old boy sipping a beer. He had a 0.4 parts-per-thousand blood alcohol level.
Serving alcohol to juveniles is against the law in Slovakia, but the teenager said his older friend had bought him the drink. Police therefore fined the friend Sk200 ($4), a sum which in Slovakia can buy about eight pints of beer.


Zemplínska Teplica
All gone

A 30-YEAR-OLD unemployed man could not believe his eyes when he returned to his house and found no TV to watch, and no microwave to heat up his dinner.
Thieves had taken Sk750,000 ($15,600) worth of various electrical appliances from the man's house, including a computer, jewellery, and Sk63,000 ($1,300) in cash.


Dolná Seč
Fool-proof car immobiliser

A SLOVAK electro-technics teacher says he has invented a perfect protection against car thieves.
His car immobiliser was tested on 300 cars, and despite attempts by thieves no car was stolen.
The system's inventor, Štefan Vámoš from the southern Slovak town of Dolná Seč, said the immobiliser was based on a mountable box, a 'cassette' connecting cables to different circuits. The cassette is one of two tools necessary for starting the car.
Should thieves manage to get hold of the cassette, they'd still be powerless against the system, which also includes a hidden switch inside the car. Unless the thief knows where the switch is located he cannot start the car.
If the car's owner is forced to start the car, the vehicle will stop automatically after the driver's door is opened.
The immobiliser is also able to call the car's owner whenever it registers an attempt to steal the car.
Vámoš admitted that car mechanics could get around the system, but said it would take a minimum of one hour to disconnect it.
Vámoš is currently waiting to receive a patent from Slovak authorities. He said that the police criminal expertise institute has contacted him to find out more about his invention.


Bratislava
Russian robber takes bus tickets and smokes

A RUSSIAN-speaking robber took bus tickets, cigarettes and Sk4,000 ($81) from a newspaper and tobacco shop in Bratislava.
The 60-year-old shop assistant said the man had come into the shop on March 1 and gave orders in Russian to hand over the cash. He threatened the shop keeper with a gun before making off with the stolen goods.


Bratislava
Marihuana - a cure for addiction

THE CAPITAL'S police officers recently tracked down a one kilogram package of marihuana.
The package, police said, was sent from Switzerland and was addressed to a 31-year-old man from Pezinok.
Police decided to forward the package to the addressee and followed him in Pezinok the day he picked it up from the local post office.
Police then followed the man to his workplace and arrested him. The man said his girlfriend had sent him the package, and added that he had another 800 grams of marihuana at home. The man said he had smoked marihuana since he was 15, and argued it had helped him beat his addiction to alcohol and cigarettes.


Pezinok
Two birds with one shot

SLOVAK investigators have charged 52-year-old Igor T. from Pezinok in western Slovakia with causing bodily harm after the man shot his 28-year-old son Rasťo in the bum.
The bullet passes through one of the son's buttocks and ended up in the thigh of Rasťo's mother. She was hospitalised, while Rasťo will undergo treatment at home for the next four weeks.
The accident, which took place in a local pub March 4, was preceded by an argument among the family members.


Lúčnica nad Žitavou
Robber needs training

A MASKED and armed 28-year-old man who robbed the local post office stole a heavy bag of Sk1,700 ($35) in coins.
Probably because of the heavy load, which made it impossible for him to run quickly, the police arrested the man shortly after he left the post office and charged him with robbery.
Police also discovered that the gun the man had pointed at the bank clerk while shouting "give me all the money you have" was a replica made of rubber.


Veľká nad Ipľom
Thou shalt not steal

LOCAL police said that Miroslav Š., a priest from the southern Slovak village of Veľká nad Ipľom, was suspected of theft and damaging several valuable church relics. The damage is estimated to be Sk300,000 ($6,200).
Marta Ilešová from regional police headquarters in Lučenec said the priest was also suspected of fraud.
Preservation experts from Lučenec recently discovered that a statue of the Virgin Mary Immaculata was missing from the local church, and that the historical pulpit had been dismantled.
In a nearby church in Jelšovec, where the priest regularly held masses, several chandeliers and gilded chalices were missing
Locals said the priest was very popular in the community members, and defended him wholeheartedly.
"All our village is enraged with the accusations against our priest," said the mayor.


Zvolen
Guilty train still unknown

ZVOLEN train police found the dead body of a 35 to 40-year-old man who was most likely hit by a train on March 5. They have not yet ascertained which train hit him.
Although local railway staff inspected five trains which had passed the location the body was found, they did not find any suspicious traces on them.


Compiled by Spectator Staff from press reports

Top stories

Stock image.

Twice as many Ukrainians work in Slovakia now than before the Russian invasion.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad