HLOHOVEC
Young swimmer rescued from river
On September 9, a university student from Hlohovec, who had tried to ford the manmade channel of the Váh river, had to be rescued by the local fire brigade. The boy had to be lifted out after getting stuck in the middle of the cold stream.
Around 7 p.m. that day, the fire station in Hlohovec was rung by a farmer who reported that a man had been standing in the water for a considerable time. Jozef Miklovič, a fire rescuer, put on his neoprene outfit on the way to the site and upon arriving, entered the cold water and put a life jacket and swimming belt on the helpless victim.
He then tied the young man to a safety rope and carried him out of the water, where he had been for over 80 minutes. The man had suffered facial injuries and cuts to his feet, and was taken to the Hlohovec hospital with severe hypothermia.
BRATISLAVA
Illegal residents detained and expelled
A security police operation called "Foreigners" took place in Bratislava's Vlčie Hrdlo suburb on September 8. A large number of foreigners were arrested, either for working without permission or for living in the country illegally.
Peter Ondera, Slovakia's Interior Ministry spokesman, announced that the border authorities had stamped the passports of 47 Poles, 13 Bulgarians and 52 Ukrainians, banning them from entering Slovak territory for the duration of three years. The Ukrainians were escorted through the border crossing at Vyšné Nemecké. The remainder of the foreigners were ordered to leave Slovakia immediately.
BRATISLAVA
Trial of four homeless murderers begins
September 16 marked the beginning of a trail of four homeless people who are accused of committing a double murder in Bratislava in July, 1997. According to the suit, following a conflict, the four men terrorized and then murdered their two homeless room-mates in cold blood. The gang had been holed up in an abandoned house on Lamačská Street, and left their victims buried in the cellar.
BRATISLAVA
Drunk driver incapable of speech
A 26 year-old man was stopped and detained by a police patrol at 8.40 p.m. on September 10. The man, who was driving a Škoda car with 0.341% blood alcohol, was unable to pronounce a word when interviewed by the officer.
ŽILINA
Ideological burglary
The Žilina local office of Slovakia's opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) was robbed during the night of September 10-11. The burglars broke into the district office on Spanyolova street and stole confidential materials containing the files of party members and party candidates for Parliamentary and municipal elections.
The burglars also took a sum of petty cash from a steel piggybank, but paid no attention to notebook computers and other equipment freely accessible in the party offices. Rudolf Štefunka, the district office secretary, declined to specify the sum of the money that had been stolen, and maintained that the incident had been an act of political provocation before the national elections.
LUČENEC
Wife meets goat's fate
On September 8, a 26 year-old man living in a small rural community near Lučenec set out to kill a goat with an axe. His wife objected strongly to his plans, and after a loud argument, the man turned his axe on his wife instead.
According to police, the young man was heavily under the influence of alcohol, and said he had assaulted his wife because he could not find any other way of stopping her from complaining. The woman suffered severe head injuries and will be in hospital for at least a week.
The attacker stands accused of intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The fate of the goat is unknown.
KOŠICE
Grass found and confiscated
Police in Košice confiscated a 10-litre bucket half-filled with marijuana, 17 glass preserving jars also filled with marijuana, 276 cannabis plants and about 2,500 marijuana seeds during a search of a house in Jablonov nad Turnov in Košice region. The investigators from the District Bureau of Investigation in Rožňava charged an unemployed pair - 21 year-old Štefan P. and 22 year-old Szilard S. - of illegal production of narcotics and possession with intent to distribute.
MICHALOVCE
Hoist with their own petard
A device exploded on September 16 in Michalovce, killing on man and injuring another. Police said that an investigation of the incident had begun, but eye-witnesses said that the two men had been attempting to place the bomb in a police car when it went off.
Compiled from press reports by Ivan Remiaš.
