KUCHING: The police here have warned members of the public not to even contemplate lodging false police reports or risk being found out and arrested following several recent cases.

District police chief ACP Abang Ahmad Abang Julai said there were a number of reports involving theft of motorcycles and street robberies, which were found to be false after investigation.

“We have already made several arrests against those found to have made false police reports. One recent case involved a person claiming to have been robbed of RM32,000.

“We charged him after finding out his report was false and he was sentenced to a fine of RM800 by the court,” he said during a high profile policing programme at Tabuan Jaya commercial centre yesterday.

He added that most of the false reports involved motorcycle owners who claimed their machines had been stolen in an attempt to file an insurance claim.

“In some cases, the owners did not keep up with their instalment payments. When their machines are on the verge of being repossessed by the bank, they would report them stolen,” he said.

Those found to have lodged false police reports face being arrested under Section 182 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum fine of RM1,500 or up to two years in prison, or both.

On the issue of crime affecting residents and business owners in Tabuan Jaya, Abang Ahmad described the situation in the area as “under control” with no reports of major crimes.

He said crimes such as housebreaking, general theft, motorcycle theft and snatch theft in Tabuan Jaya all showed a decline of between two and eight cases from Jan 1 and July 31 this year compared to the corresponding period last year, with only car theft increasing by four from 17 to 21 cases during that period.

“With the help of all parties, I am confident that Tabuan Jaya can become a safe area for residents

and business owners,” he said, while revealing that the area is among those being considered during discussions with the local council to have closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed under the Safe City Programme.

Yesterday’s high profile policing programme saw senior police officers going on a walkabout in the commercial area to meet shop owners and members of the public to gather feedback.

Among those who joined the police in the walkabout were various community leaders, Sarawak United People’s Party members, local councillors, and members of the neighbourhood watch group.