Authorities have placed a 42-year-old man in investigative custody on Saturday over suspicion that he threatened and physically attacked a 70-year-old ethnic Serb in the coastal city of Rijeka.

The suspect, a public employee in the civil protection administration, has been also suspended from his job.

The suspect was arrested at the Rupe border crossing on Saturday morning for allegedly threatening and attacking the man in a car park in Rijeka’s suburb of Viskovo on August 20 during an argument over a parking space.

The suspect allegedly insulted the 70-year-old based on the latter’s ethnic background and slightly injured the old man who informed the media that he had been beaten due to his ethnic Serb background.