2 men in Qingpu District pay price for false accusations made to police

A man in suburban Shanghai has been detained for falsely reporting suspected prostitution at a bathhouse, police said on Thursday.

The man surnamed Mei allegedly owned up to the police he did so because he was “curious" to know how police worked.

Police at the Shangta station in Qingpu District received a call from Mei on the evening of  October 12. He claimed there was prostitution going on at a bathhouse in Shangta, but police soon found that the bathhouse had already been closed down.

Mei later admitted that he knew the bathhouse was not in business, police said.

In another Qingpu District case, this time in Liantang Town, a man surnamed Lu has also been detained for making false alarm calls to the police.

Lu called the police several times this month claiming that people were gambling at mahjong sessions held at a chess club, but police discovered the chess club was no longer in business.

Lu later admitted that he made the false calls with no evidence “in order to retaliate against the chess club where he once lost money through gambling,” police said.

The chess club was innocent of the accusations leveled against it, police added.

Both Lu and Mei were punished with 10 to 15 days of detention.