Drunkard jailed for hoax call

A man was sentenced to two years in jail for dialing the 110 emergency service with a false alarm, local authorities said Tuesday.

Li Nailiang, 28, was convicted by the People's Court in Penglai, a coastal city in east China's Shandong Province, of fabricating false information and causing economic losses of 107,000 yuan (13,392 U.S. dollars).

The Command Center of the Penglai Public Security Bureau received a call at around midnight on Oct. 22 last year, saying a fishing boat with four men on board had capsized off the coast of Dazhushan Island of Bohai Strait.

Helicopters and boats were soon dispatched despite high winds to search for the missing seamen, but five hours later no trace had been found of either boat or sailors.

When local police tracked down the man who had made the phone call, they discovered that the "capsized ship" was a hoax and that the caller, Li, had been drinking that evening, the court heard.

A policeman called Liu said Li dialed the free number 110 to see if he could get through because his cellphone had been suspended for lack of credit.

Li was arrested on Nov. 3.

It is not known whether he will appeal to a higher court.

More than half of all calls on China's 110 emergency services were nuisance calls, according to earlier report.

Making bogus 110 calls is illegal and culprits face a minimum 500-yuan (64 U.S. dollars) fine and 10 days in prison. Those who falsely report accidents like explosions and radiation threats may face prosecution.

Source: Xinhua