Man gets 16 weeks for false 999 calls

A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison and asked to compensate HK$100,000 to the SAR government for making 635 false reports by calling 999.

Appearing before deputy magistrate Dixon Co Yau-tik at the West Kowloon courts yesterday, Liu Pong-hei pleaded guilty to six counts of causing wasteful employment of police and was sentenced to 16 weeks' jail time and a HK$100,000 compensation to the government.

This came after officers received some 635 false reports on the 999 emergency number between August and December, in which the caller said there were people fighting and being injured at six locations in the Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan districts.

Upon arriving at the scene, officers found that no such incidents had happened. The case was then passed to the Sham Shui Po district's crime squad for investigation.

Liu was arrested in December after an in-depth investigation and later charged with six counts of causing wasteful employment of police.

Officers reminded the public not to falsely report cases as it would affect the force's efficiency in handling genuine emergencies.

According to chapter 221 of Criminal Procedure Ordinance, anyone who causes wasteful employment of the police by knowingly making a false report may be subject to a maximum fine of HK$2,000 and six months' imprisonment.