Stressed about an illness he was diagnosed with in 2017 and unhappy that his male partner was not giving him enough attention, he accused the latter of drugging and raping him.
Calling the police thrice, Fredy Kosman Kwee, 34, told an investigation officer that his 50-year-old Singaporean boyfriend had force-fed him a pill and raped him at their home while he was unconscious.
Confronted with CCTV footage showing his boyfriend was not at home at the time, Kwee came clean after he was told an officer from the specialised crime branch would be interviewing him.
Yesterday, the Singapore permanent resident from Indonesia was jailed five days after pleading guilty to giving false information to a public servant. Two other charges were taken into consideration.
In his sentencing remarks, District Judge Marvin Bay said it was fortunate the CCTV footage had exposed Kwee's allegations to be fabrications.
Said the judge: "Offences of this nature are taken very seriously as there can be dire consequences from false reports being made of sexual or drug-related crimes."
Kwee first called the police at about 6.15pm on Jan 2, saying there was a fight in the West Coast Road flat where he and his boyfriend lived.
He called 999 twice more in the next half-hour, asking for more police officers to be sent and claiming someone had tried to drug and rape him.
Kwee later told Senior Staff Sergeant Loh Chee Wee from Clementi Police Division, who arrived at about 9pm, that his boyfriend had come into the room he was sleeping in at about 3pm, covered him with a pillow case and force-fed him a pill.
LOST CONSCIOUSNESS
Kwee claimed he was pinned down, lost consciousness and woke up at about 4.30pm.
SSS Loh interviewed Kwee's boyfriend, who denied the allegations, and checked CCTV footage of the vicinity, which showed the boyfriend had not entered the flat in the afternoon.
Kwee maintained his claims when interviewed again by SSS Loh at about 11pm, but eventually recanted his statement and admitted he had lied.
Asking for a short jail term, Deputy Public Prosecutor Seah Ee Wei said Kwee's false assertions wasted public investigative resources and could have caused harm to his boyfriend.
She added that sexual assault offences are typically "he said, she said" and Kwee should not understate his culpability and involvement in the matter.
Kwee's lawyer Malcolm Tan urged the court to impose a one-day jail term and a $2,000 fine. He said Kwee was depressed and suffered from amphetamine induced psychosis, which led to paranoia and a confused state of mind even after his arrest.
Jailed for eight months in 2016 for using methamphetamine, Kwee has since kicked his drug habit with the support of his boyfriend, who was in court yesterday.
The couple have reconciled and continue to live together.
Kwee, who now works at McDonald's and teaches dance on his days off, will start his sentence on Thursday.
For knowingly giving false information to a public servant, he could have been jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.