A French student tried to conceal his late-night Paceville spending spree from his family back home by filing a false report claiming that he was robbed €400 while withdrawing money from an ATM, a court heard yesterday.

His plot was however uncovered when the police analysed the ATM footage, in which he was seen in the company of several women.

Theophile L Charles Duchange, 22, who was residing at the University residence in Lija, was yesterday arraigned under arrest before Magistrate Anthony Vella. The man was charged with filing a false police report in connection with an incident which he claimed had occurred on January 8 in Paceville.

Sources said that doubts had been immediately raised by the fact that the student only decided to file the report a few days ago, almost a month after the alleged incident. Despite claiming that he was beaten up by four men, the accused bore no signs of external violence and produced no medical certificates to corroborate his claim, the sources added.

It later transpired that the accused had cooked up a story after his family sought an explanation for the fact that he had squandered twice his weekly allocation in a single night.

The man apologised for his “stupid behaviour” and was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years. Lawyer Yana Micallef Stafrace was legal aid while police inspectors Carlos Cordina and Trevor Micallef prosecuted.