Mueng police in Chiangmai, upon receiving the report, had swiftly conducted investigations by visiting the scene where the alleged crime took place and interviewed nearby residents but became suspicious when nobody knew anything about the case.

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

The source said the youngster told 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 16,000 bahts (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 10pm on Thursday.

He is now facing the possibility of spending up to three years of his life in prison and being fined 10,000 bahts (RM1,250) if convicted. The judge could also suspend sentence.

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

“The Malaysian might think this is a joke, offering payment for us to forget the case. It doesn’t work like that,” he said, adding that robbery was 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’s time.

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