A WOMAN stole things at a supermarket and was caught on the spot. She paid an indemnity to the supermarket to avoid being reported to police. But being afraid that her family would ask her the whereabouts of the money, she lied to the police and said she had been robbed, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Monday.

On the morning of Aug. 9, the woman, surnamed Yang, called the police and said she was robbed of 5,000 yuan (US$749) by three men on a pedestrian bridge on Binhe Boulevard in Futian District. Yang claimed she was threatened by three men wearing dark T-shirts on her way to buy food.

However, the police were suspicious and went to the scene immediately to investigate. They didn’t see the three men on the surveillance video.

After 32 hours of investigation, the police found that Yang hadn’t been robbed at all. In the face of irrefutable evidence, she finally admitted to making a false police report. According to Yang, she was caught for theft at a supermarket and paid the reparations to avoid being held legally accountable. She worried that her family would ask about the money, so she lied about getting robbed.

Yang has been detained for 10 days by Futian police for making a false police report and theft.

(Zhang Yu)