A Ukrainian man has reported a fictitious murder to police in the hope that they would clear snow from his road when they came to arrest him, regional authorities have said.
The man called police on Saturday night to tell them he had killed his mother”s partner by stabbing him.
He said the victim “showed no signs of life,” Yulia Kovtoun, a spokesman for the Cherniguiv police, said on Monday.
The man also advised police to bring a snowplough because “it was not possible to reach his house otherwise,” Kovtoun added.
Law enforcement officers were, however, able to reach the property in the small village of Grybova Rudnia in northwestern Ukraine using an all-terrain vehicle.
The alleged victim was “safe and sound and no one had attacked him”, the spokeswoman continued.
The road in question had been cleared of snow in the morning, according to local authorities, but the man said he was unhappy with the work and hoped the police would finish the job.
The suspect has admitted to making the false call and faces a fine of up to up to 119 hryvnias (€3.50) for improper appeal.
Ukraine has recorded record snowfalls in recent days, with more than 50 centimetres falling across the region.