SINGAPORE: A resident mistakenly accused a man who was caught on camera taking a parcel from outside a Tampines flat as a thief and made a police report that her delivery item had been stolen. Upon further investigation, she later found out that she had made a mistake.
In footage shared by a resident, the man appeared to be receiving instructions from someone on the phone to go to a specific residential unit and grab a box that was placed outside the unit.
She claimed that she had an interesting case and that her parcel was stolen. The box contained 98 laundry pods, which she ordered for S$9.
“I bought it at an excellent price, but a few days later, the price was corrected to S$49,” she said.
She initially thought that the seller had priced the product wrongly and sent someone to collect it back. She explained: “I thought it was cheap because it was expiring, which we didn’t mind.”
In response to Stomp, the police confirmed that the report was submitted and that investigations of the case had started.
Recently, the resident made an update about the case and admitted that the police explained to her what actually happened. It was said that the delivery man in the video had picked up her parcel by mistake because he was given the wrong address.
“So this guy is innocent… It was all a misunderstanding,” she remarked. The resident still hopes that she will get her laundry pods back so there will be some closure to this case.
Giving false information in Singapore
There are times when people accuse others of a crime by mistake due to misunderstanding and confusion. If an individual makes an accusation honestly and with good reason, they are not in trouble even if the accused is later found not guilty.
However, people sometimes make false accusations on purpose, either for revenge or for their benefit. If someone accuses an innocent person of a crime, that is against the law and can result in jail if found guilty.
Under section 182 of the Penal Code in Singapore, it is illegal to give false information to the police or other public officials if the intention is to harm or annoy someone or if one knows it will likely cause harm or annoyance to others. Offenders of this law can be fined, and/or can be imprisoned for up to two years, depending on the intensity of the situation.
