Three men under investigation for lodging false police reports

SINGAPORE - Police are investigating three men who are believed to have lodged separate false reports over the past month.

In the first case, which was reported on Aug 28, a 46-year-old man told the police that he had been robbed along Marsiling Lane on Aug 26. He claimed that an unknown man had threatened him with a sharp object and robbed him of $700 before fleeing.

However, officers from Jurong Police Division detected several inconsistencies in his account.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had, in fact, misplaced the money and had lodged the report as an excuse, in order to account for it to his wife, the police said in a statement on Friday (Sept 14).

The second false report was filed last week. On Sept 8, a 27-year-old man told the police that his motorcycle had been stolen along Woodlands Ring Road.

Preliminary investigations later revealed that the man had loaned the motorcycle to his friend but was concerned that his friend might have committed offences when using his vehicle. As he did not wish to be implicated, he lodged a police report.

In the third case, reported on Tuesday, a 25-year-old man lodged a police report that his motorcycle had been stolen from a multi-storey carpark in Whampoa Drive.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had sold his motorcycle to a buyer via Carousell but had not transferred ownership of the vehicle. He was believed to have lodged a false report, as the buyer had committed multiple traffic offences using the motorcycle.

Investigations against the three men are ongoing.

"The police would like to remind the public that police resources could have been put to better use in dealing with real crimes and emergencies than investigating false reports or false information," the police statement said.

Anyone convicted of giving any information which they know to be false to a public servant can be jailed for up to one year, or fined up to $5,000, or both.

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