Student lied about campus attacks[新闻]

2004年3月19日22年前

[url]http://nb.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nb_falsestatement20040318[/url]

Resource: CBC

SAINT JOHN ― An international student who claimed he was the victim of two racially-motivated assaults has now admitted that he fabricated the attacks C duping the police and the media into investigating his story.

Rayan Malik, 21, pleaded guilty in Saint John court Thursday afternoon to public mischief and leading police on a false investigation.

From March 15, 2004: Police investigate campus attacks

Malik is a business student at the University of New Brunswick's Saint John campus, and is news editor of the school paper, The Baron. He was born in Pakistan, but is a resident of Dubai. He has lived in Saint John since January, 2002.

Malik told police and the media that he was attacked by four white men outside the university library on Sunday morning. He said the four men emerged from behind parked cars and called out to him. When he ignored them, he said they grabbed his arms and punched him repeatedly and bloodied his nose, calling him an '[expletive] Middle Eastern brown person.'

Malik then said he was assaulted again on Sunday night, as he was going into another university building to work on a story for the student paper. He claimed a group of men grabbed his jacket, pushed him to the ground and began punching and kicking him repeatedly in the stomach and head.

Saint John Police Cst. Jay Henderson says Malik described the first attack in written and video-taped statements on Sunday afternoon. He then called police again Sunday evening, and made another statement about the second attack.

The media picked up the story on Monday, and Malik conducted lengthy interviews with television and print media about both incidents. Stories about the attacks appeared on the radio and evening newscasts around the province.

Police suspicious

Henderson says police became suspicious when they examined Malik for bruises and found none. Investigators checked school security cameras and a security swipe card system students use to enter and leave buildings on campus C and discovered Malik was not where he said he was.

Police then found Malik's jacket, which was not torn or dirty, as he claimed it was.

Officers called Malik back on Wednesday, and held him for questioning for approximately five hours, until he admitted he made up the entire story.

The incident prompted the university to promise better security around buildings on weekends.

From March 16, 2004: Campus attacks call security into question

UNBSJ Vice president Kathryn Hamer says the university community is taken aback by Malik's allegations and his admission of guilt. "We are certainly surprised and are dealing with the details as they emerge," she says. "We've been concerned about the impact of this on other students and our faculty and staff."

Malik will be in court for April 30. He's been ordered to surrender his Pakistani passport, so he can't leave the country until the matter is concluded.

Crown prosecutor Jim McAvity told the court Malik's fabrication was an attempt to draw attention to a perceived problem with racism following a brawl at a campus pub Friday night.

Saint John Police have seized tapes of audio interviews Malik conducted with CBC Radio about the attacks as evidence.