Postman may have lied about robberies

A young postman faces three years in jail for making up two armed robberies.The 20-year-old from Schwertberg told police last week he was threatened by a masked man when his car broke down on a snow-covered countryside street near St. Georgen an der Gusen.The Post AG employee claimed in police interviews that the attacker was armed with a knife and escaped with a bag of money and payment slips.Now police have asked prosecutors to press embezzlement charges since a witness of the alleged hold-up informed officers that the man was lying.The postman made his most recent robbery claim just weeks after he told local police that he fell victim to an armed hold-up by two men on exactly the same road crossing.If it turns out that the man lied, he could face up to three years in prison. Upper Austrian post authorities decided today (Thurs) to suspend the accused as investigations continue.The news comes shortly after a mail distribution centre employee, 41, was caught hoarding hundreds of letters and parcels at his home in Wals, Salzburg.