Brett Wihelmus Theodorus De Jong jailed for false assault claim against police officer
A Mid-North Coast man who falsely accused a neighbour – a policeman – of assault following a confrontation in a shop over unregistered vehicles has been sentenced.
Mid-North Coast
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A Taree business owner has been jailed after falsely accusing a neighbour, a serving police officer, of assault after tensions over unregistered motorbikes sparked a confrontation in a hardware store.
Brett Wihelmus Theodorus De Jong pleaded guilty to making a false accusation with the intent to cause another person to be the subject of an investigation knowing that person is innocent.
On June 20 in Taree Local Court, De Jong was sentenced to 12-months imprisonment with a non-parole period of eight months.
He will be eligible for parole on February 19, 2024.
The 32-year-old runs his own fencing business and lives in the Hillville area, which is near Tinonee, southwest of Taree.
The victim is a police officer and also lives in the area.
Documents tendered in court revealed the victim made complaints to fellow neighbours about unregistered motorbikes and quadbikes on the roadway being driven, at times, in a “negligent and dangerous manner”.
None of the complaints were made directly to De Jong, but he heard about them from other neighbours.
The victim, who was off-duty at the time, was shopping for produce at the CRT Produce store on Whitbread Street in Taree about 11.30am on February 9.
Dejong was also in the shop, kneeling down looking at hinges.
Another neighbour who happened to be in the store pointed De Jong out to the victim.
The officer approached Dejong and they talked for just over two minutes.
Dejong later falsely claimed the off-duty officer “barged past him” after their conversation, causing sharp pain in his shoulder and tingling in his fingers.
Dejong also claimed he suffered from fluid on his rotator cuff in a shoulder joint.
At one point during the investigation, Dejong claimed his injury would put him out of work for up to six months and he was being referred to a psychiatrist for anxiety triggered by the alleged assault.
De Jong went to the Taree Police Station to make a formal complaint about 2pm on the day of the confrontation, but nobody was available to take it down.
He called the station about 2.50pm and said he was at Manning Base Hospital having his shoulder assessed.
When De Jong returned to the police station the next day, he had his arm in a sling and wanted to make a statement.
He told officers he had been kneeling down when he felt a heavy push to his shoulder, which caused him to fall.
De Jong also claimed shop employees intervened to remove the officer from the store and he tried to access CCTV footage, but there was no view of the back right-hand section of the shop where the assault supposedly occurred.
Investigating police accessed footage and it showed the victim approach Dejong to talk to him.
The footage did not show any altercation between the two or any employees stepping in to intervene.
Police arrested and charged Dejong on February 12.
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