SINGAPORE - A 63-year-old man who made a police report about missing grocery vouchers is being investigated for stealing them and lodging a false report.

The man had alleged in his police report on Nov 9 that his Budget 2020 grocery vouchers, along with those of his co-tenant at Kim Tian Place, were missing.

Preliminary investigations found that the man is believed to have received two sets of vouchers in his residential letterbox, one each for himself and his co-tenant, the police said in a statement on Tuesday (Nov 24).

Through ground inquiries and with the aid of CCTV cameras, officers from the Central Police Division and Clementi Police Division established that the man was suspected to have stolen his co-tenant's vouchers and lied to him that he did not receive any vouchers himself.

To avoid suspicion, the man lodged a false police report, alleging that his set of vouchers had also been stolen and misused, the police said, adding that investigations are ongoing.

The police said its resources could have been put to better use dealing with real crimes and emergencies rather than investigating false reports and information.

Knowingly giving false information to a public servant is an offence that carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both.

Those found guilty of theft can be jailed up to three years, fined or both.

This is the latest case of grocery vouchers being stolen from Housing Board letterboxes across Singapore.

Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah said in Parliament earlier this month that 55 people had been arrested for stealing Budget 2020 grocery vouchers from letterboxes.

The voucher sets, worth $150 each, were mailed to 150,000 lower-income Singaporeans in October, and are intended to help the less well-off with their household expenses during this period of economic uncertainty. A second round will be given out in December.