A 20 year-old Malaysian man could be spending several years in jail if found guilty of filing a false police report about being robbed by a knife-wielding ‘Western tourist’ in Chiangmai on Friday.

Mueng police in Chiangmai, upon receiving the report, had swiftly conducted an investigation by visiting the scene where the alleged crime took place and interviewed nearby residents but found nothing as claimed.

“We did not find any evidence of robbery and when asked, the Malaysian man eventually admitted that he had falsely filed the police report as a ruse after spending all his money at a bar,” a Chiangmai police source told Bernama today.  

The source said the youngster told the police that he needed the police report to convince his father to send more money to enable him to return to Malaysia.

The youth claimed he was broke after spending all his money totalling Baht 16,000 (RM2,000) at the bar on the night the alleged robbery took place.

According to the source, the man who claimed to be from a family of a successful businessman arrived in Chiangmai alone at 10 pm (local time) on Thursday.

He is now facing the possibility of spending up to three years of his life in prison and fine of Baht 10,000 (RM1,250), or suspended sentence depending on the judge's discretion, if convicted.

The police source also said that the man could be facing more trouble with the Thai authorities as he was alleged to have offered Baht 20,000 (RM2,500) to the police as an inducement for them to drop the case.

“The Malaysian might be thinking that this is a joke, offering payment for us to forget the case. It doesn't work like that,” he said, adding that robbery is a serious offence in Thailand.

“Just imagine if a man was falsely accused of robbing someone. That individual could be spending the rest of his life in prison,” he said. 

The source said the Malaysian youth had been denied bail and would remain under police custody until his court appearance, possibly in a week time.

Bernama was made to understand that the youngster's father would be arriving in Chiangmai soon.

- Bernama