A 60-year-old man with time on his hands made almost 7,000 calls from July to December to the national emergency hotline 112 – and now he’s in the dock, charged with the crime of abuse and “simulation of danger”.
On some occasions, Jornal de Notícias reports, the hoaxer made calls by the minute. On December 10 last year, for example, he made 55 calls between 5.30am and midnight.
He always asked simply for information. In fact, says the newspaper, the man’s defence is that he was dialling 911 (the US emergency number) which he thought was for information, and the calls were automatically switched through to 112. Even so, the fetish for calling constantly, day by day, for months on end, endeared him to no one.
The court trying the case in Braga heard how the man was frequently abusive to whoever came onto the line and “feared no one”.
Police and firemen began recognising the man’s number and ended up not answering many of the calls.
As the trial continues, phone lines in Braga have enjoyed quiet reprieve.
