SYDNEY: Australian police have charged a man with falsely claiming he was injured in a mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach in an attempt to obtain financial compensation.
A father-and-son duo allegedly carried out the gun attack on a Jewish festival at the beach in December last year, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.
"Detectives identified a 46-year-old man who allegedly made a false statement that he was injured in the Bondi shooting and made subsequent fraudulent claims for compensation in the aftermath," New South Wales police said in a statement on Wednesday.
Police said they arrested the man on Tuesday and charged him with publishing false and misleading material to obtain an advantage.
He was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear at Parramatta Local Court in western Sydney on Nov 18.
One of the Bondi Beach gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police during the Dec14 attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His son, Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody facing a total of 78 charges, including terrorism and 15 counts of murder.
A Sydney court on Wednesday set Naveed Akram's committal hearing for Feb 24 next year. He is due to appear by audio-video link from prison.
He has yet to enter a plea.
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