Jail for man who claimed cops had 'role to play' in purported theft of $8,000 cash
A man, who was woken up by the presence of two police officers in his home on Dec 12, later claimed that his monies totalling $8,000 had gone missing and that the pair "had a role to play" for the loss.
It turned out that he was never in possession of the amount in the first place.
Vinesh Kumar Ganesan, 33, maintained his lie to an investigation officer later that day.
The Malaysian finally admitted to the authorities on Dec 13 that he had lied.
Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren said: "He claimed that he was drunk, tired and frustrated for being woken up... which led to the false statements being given by the accused."
Separately, Vinesh also committed offences including riding a motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol and doing so without a licence.
On Friday (Dec 31), he was sentenced to four weeks' jail and a fine of $6,800.
He was disqualified from operating all classes of vehicles in Singapore for three years.
He pleaded guilty to four charges, including giving false information to a public servant and riding a motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol.
In the wee hours of Dec 12 this year, two police officers went to Vinesh's home, responding to a case of assault as his roommate had called for assistance.
Court documents do not disclose the address and details about the assault.
Vinesh was woken up by the pair's presence at around 3.30am.
The DPP said: "(He) was looking for his bag where he had kept his identification card but was unable to locate his bag.
"A while later, one of the two police officers found the said bag in another bedroom and handed it over to the accused. The accused checked his bag and told the two police officers that his cash amounting to $8,000 was missing."
About three hours later, Vinesh lodged a report at the Pasir Ris Neighbourhood Police Centre, alleging that either the two police officers or his roommate "had a role to play" in stealing the cash.
Following an investigation, he finally admitted to his lies the next day.
In an unrelated case, the court heard that he drank two cans of beer in Aliwal Street near Beach Road at around 6pm on Aug 11 this year, before he rode a friend's motorcycle to a Bussorah Street restaurant nearby.
A dispute later took place and the police were alerted.
The DPP said: "(A police officer) then interviewed the accused and he informed that he had wanted to look for a friend by the name of 'Dinesh' but the staff of the restaurant told him that 'Dinesh' was not working.
"While interviewing the accused, the (officer) observed the accused reeked of alcohol."
A breathalyser test was conducted on Vinesh and he failed it.
He was taken to the Police Cantonment Complex for another test and he was found to have 72 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath.
This was more than double the prescribed limit of 35mcg of alcohol in the same amount of breath.
For giving false information to a public servant, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined.
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