SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Wife wakes after husband shoots her in head

A 27-year-old shop manager, Margita P, who was shot in the back of her head and stomach by her 33-year-old Kosovar husband, has survived.

 

Margita P, a shop manager from Perlen in Luzern, was given only a 50-percent-chance of survival, so serious were her injuries. She was induced into an artificial coma, from which she only recently awoke.

“I’ve had a lot of guardian angels. It’s a wonder I’m still alive,” she said.

Margita was shot by her jealous husband, Martin P, on May 7, 2012, after she had told him that she wanted to leave him, online news site Blick reported.

“I remember that he suddenly pulled out a gun. I wanted to escape into the apartment and he fired,” Margita told Blick. “Then I was gone.”

Although happy that both she and her mother are alive, Margita feels sorry for her son, Dominic, who is only 18 months old.

Margita will now have to undergo intensive therapy.

“I can not move my whole left side and my right eye looks wrong,” she told Blick. 

The 33-year-old Kosovar man also shot at Margita’s mother, Gjyste T, before being chased from the apartment by Margita’s brother, Mikel T. Martin then turned the gun upon himself.

When asked how she feels about her husband now, Margita replies that she feels cold.

“Although he is no longer there, I’m still afraid of him. In my thoughts. It will take time. Perhaps it was meant to be that way.”

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

'Your permit is invalid': How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
SHOW COMMENTS