A man was arrested for false accusation on Monday after he lied to the police about having been assaulted and robbed of a watch worth 150,000 patacas at a restaurant in San Kio district, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai said at a press conference yesterday.
Lou identified the suspect as a 20-year-old mainlander, surnamed Cheong, who said he works as a waiter.
According to Lou, Cheong reported to the police on May 10 that he had been assaulted by three men and robbed of his watch and jacket.
Launching an investigation into the incident, Lou said that the Judiciary Police identified the three men with the help of the citywide CCTV surveillance system. However, Lou told the press that the CCTV footage and the description the three men gave the police about the incident showed that Cheong, who was drunk, approached and harassed the trio while they were waiting in their car for a friend.
Lou added that Cheong repeatedly banged on their car and attempted to open the door. When confronted with Cheong’s unreasonable behaviour and provocation, the three men got out of the car and chased Cheong away, with the suspect leaving the area.
Lou said Cheong was angry due to the encounter and later decided to falsely accuse the three men firstly of assaulting him and secondly of robbing his expensive watch and his jacket.
According to Lou, Cheong told the police that his watch was worth 150,000 patacas, but it was later found to be a fake timepiece the suspect bought for 500 yuan. Lou underlined that Cheong confessed to the police about the fake accusation, and lied about the value of his watch in order to play up the seriousness of the incident.
Lou said that Cheong was sent to the Prosecutions Office (MP) on Monday, facing a false accusation charge.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai looks on during Monday’s press conference. Photo: William Chan
