M'sian man lies to police that he was robbed, didn't want girlfriend to know he was at nightclub drinking

A Malaysian man has been fined and jailed after lying to police that his phone had been stolen while trying to deceive his girlfriend.

Suspicious story

A man in Kulim, Kedah, went out drinking at a nightclub and during his night out, lost his phone.

The man, named Chen Ronghui by Sin Chew Daily (Sin Chew), then tried to prevent his girlfriend from finding out that he had been to the nightclub by filing a false police report and saying that his phone had been stolen.

The man had told police that on May 7 at 1:30am, outside a restaurant in Kulim Hi-Tech Industrial Park, two men riding on a motorcycle had snatched his mobile phone.

But when Kulim police investigated, they found the story to be quite suspicious.

The police took another statement from the man in the evening of the same day, but the man broke down under police questioning and admitted that he had filed a false police report.

He then admitted that he had lost his phone while drinking at a local nightclub.

Filing a false report

The story about his phone being stolen was entirely fabricated, which he had done because he was worried that his girlfriend would find out he had been drinking at a nightclub.

The police then charged him with providing false information to the police, resulting in a public official exercising their powers and initiating an investigation.

For that, he could have faced up to six months' imprisonment and a fine of up to RM2,000 (S$644), or both.

The man pled guilty at his trial, and his lawyer argued that he had shown remorse and was a first-time offender. The lawyer also noted that the man was single and needed to care for his elderly parents.

However, the prosecutor in the case said that his actions had wasted public funds and manpower, and therefore required a severe sentence.

He was sentenced to either a fine of RM1,000 (S$322) or two months in jail in lieu of the fine.