A district court in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg denied a former police officer property rights on an apartment where he says he has been "waiting in ambush" since 1993.
The former police officer, Andrei Pugin, asked the court to hand him an apartment in downtown St. Petersburg, with a total area of 92 square meters.
He says he has been "waiting in ambush" in the apartment since 1993 to detain people who abducted and killed the flat's former owner.
However, the suspected murderers have already been captured, tried and released after serving their prison terms.
While "waiting in ambush," the police officer married and fathered a son.
Pugin sites the Russian Civil Code which allows a court to grant ownership rights to a person who used ownerless property for more than 15 years.
ST. PETERSBURG, June 3 (RIA Novosti)
