A 37-year-old British tourist was remanded in custody for eight days by the Paphos district court on Monday in connection with the death of his three-year-old son, who fell from the fourth floor of a hotel in Chlorakas on Sunday evening.

The father is being investigated for causing death by a reckless, negligent or dangerous act, neglect of duty as the head of a family, and failing in his responsibility as a person having care of another.

A post-mortem examination carried out by forensic pathologists Angeliki Papetta and Orthodoxos Orthodoxou found that the three-year-old died from a severe traumatic brain injury, as well as multiple injuries to the body and vital organs, sustained in the fall from height.

The British High Commission told the Cyprus Mail they are “aware of the case” and “are providing Consular assistance to the family.”

At court, police requested the father be remanded in custody for eight days to facilitate ongoing investigations.

The hearing was briefly interrupted after the father became visibly distressed and overcome with emotion while the investigator outlined the circumstances of the case.

Investigators are examining evidence suggesting that the father and the child’s grandfather had left their rooms and were waiting for a lift to go to dinner when the incident occurred.

The court heard that the father was holding the three-year-old in his arms and playing with him while they waited outside their fourth-floor room.

A large window was located next to where they were standing, and investigators are examining whether one section of the window had been left open without the father realising it.

Police are investigating whether, during the course of playing with the child, the boy slipped from his father’s arms and fell through the opening.

The child’s grandfather is understood to have witnessed the incident.

The father, his wife and five-year-old daughter, were on the first day of their holiday with the grandparents when the tragedy occurred.

The child was taken by ambulance to Paphos general hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

The family had arrived in Cyprus in the early hours of Sunday for a holiday and had been due to remain at the hotel until July 25.

The father appeared in court without legal representation.

Police requested an eight-day remand to allow investigators to continue their inquiries, a request to which the father did not object after the proceedings resumed.

Police spokesman Vyron Vyronos said the eight-day remand represents the maximum period a court can grant at this stage of an investigation and does not necessarily mean the suspect will remain in custody for the full duration.

“If the investigation is completed earlier, the father may be released before the remand expires,” Vyronos told the Cyprus Mail, adding that the length of the remand is ultimately at the discretion of the court.

Police said five witness statements have so far been obtained, with additional statements still to be taken from people who were present at the hotel.