Boy, 8, turns himself in after hoax 999 calls about hill fire in Hong Kong
Boy admits making fake emergency phone calls in which he claimed four teachers and 21 pupils were stranded on mountain due to blaze
An eight-year-old boy has turned himself in for making hoax calls about a hill fire trapping 25 teachers and pupils in Hong Kong, with police giving him a verbal warning.
The force said on Friday the boy surrendered himself at a police station the previous day and admitted to making fake emergency phone calls in which he claimed that four teachers and 21 pupils were stranded on the Pat Sin Leng mountain range in Tai Po due to a blaze.
“After a preliminary investigation, officers issued a verbal warning to the boy before he was allowed to leave,” police said.
They also stressed that making a hoax call not only affected the efficiency of handling emergencies but could also prevent residents in need from receiving immediate help.
Anyone who makes a false report and wastes police resources, upon conviction, faces a maximum fine of HK$2,000 (US$257) and up to six months in jail.
On Thursday afternoon, police received four separate calls about a blaze on the 511-metre (1,676-foot) Hsien Ku Fung, one of eight peaks in the Pat Sin Leng range in the northeastern New Territories.
The caller claimed that teachers and pupils were trapped, but the line was disconnected when the emergency call centre asked to speak to the teachers.