

Web Staff, cp24.com





A Toronto man charged with mischief for allegedly faking his own gunpoint abduction has been released on $20,000 bail.

He is also now under house arrest, and was ordered to see a doctor about any mental health issues.

Furqan Muhammad-Haroon, 22, was found in St. Catharines on Tuesday. He went missing hours before he was supposed to board a flight to Dubai on Saturday.

Earlier Tuesday, investigators stopped calling the disappearance a kidnapping, saying they considered him to be "missing" instead.

Police had originally released a photo of Muhammad-Haroon, saying he was abducted at gunpoint but failed to find any evidence to support the theory for several days.

His father said his son had a large amount of cash on him when he went missing, hours before his flight.

The University of Toronto engineering student was charged with theft earlier this month. He's accused of stealing computer equipment from IBM, where he had been employed.

Muhammad-Haroon has been charged with public mischief and was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

The man's parents, brother and several family friends were waiting in the courthouse for his appearance which could happen at any point Wednesday and declined to make comments to reporters.

The family appeared grim-faced as they entered court, and the accused's lawyer says Muhammad-Haroon's parents didn't know about the alleged theft from IBM.

Muhammad-Haroon's family had said they believed he was forced off the road and abducted at gunpoint on his way to Pearson International Airport.

If convicted of mischief, he could receive a maximum sentence of 5 years in jail.