Skiathos: four arrests over alcohol served to a minor

Officers of the Skiathos Police Station made four arrests under the in flagrante procedure on the afternoon of Tuesday 18 August. According to the news outlet Libre.gr, citing the police announcement, on the previous evening a minor was in two food and drink establishments on the island, where alcoholic drinks were sold and served to him. The minor was then taken to the hospital of Skiathos in a state of intoxication, where he was given first aid. The identity of the child is not being made public, as is required for any minor. Those arrested are considered innocent until judged by the courts.

Two men were arrested, the owner and the legal representative of the two establishments, for breaching the measures protecting minors. Both parents of the minor were also arrested, and a case file was drawn up against them for the offence of exposure, because, according to the announcement, they allowed their son to consume alcohol in those establishments and indeed in their presence. Greek law prohibits the sale and serving of alcoholic drinks to persons under the age of seventeen, while the offence of exposure concerns anyone who puts at risk a person in their care. Supervision of compliance with the rules falls both to the police and to the health services of the municipalities, which can impose separate administrative penalties.

The case forms part of a wider issue affecting islands with an intense nightlife. Binge drinking by teenagers is linked to serious risks, from acute poisoning and aspiration to accidents and the long-term effect on brain development. In the emergency departments of island hospitals such cases multiply during the summer months, when the influx of visitors increases many times over and health facilities operate with limited staff. Skiathos has a permanent population of a few thousand residents, which multiplies in August, with the island’s nightlife concentrated in a few streets of the main town.

The case was referred to the competent authorities, while the police announced that they are continuing checks to protect minors from alcohol. It has not become known whether administrative penalties were imposed on the two establishments, such as a fine or temporary closure, measures that are provided for independently of the criminal procedure. Nor has the state of the minor’s health after the first aid been announced. Similar incidents have been recorded in other parts of the country recently, with the authorities stepping up checks on catering and entertainment venues throughout the summer season. The checks also cover compliance with opening hours and operating licences.