Conman claimed to have fallen from buildings

A former air conditioner installer, who swindled 12,000 yuan ($1,935) by claiming to have fallen from buildings 25 times since 2011, has been charged with stirring up trouble by Hengfeng county people's prosecuting department in Shangrao city in East China's Jiangxi province, according to Shangrao city people's government.

The 47-year-old suspect, surnamed Li, is from Jiangsu province. It is alleged he cheated people in seven provinces, including Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Hunan.

"He usually chose buildings under construction in busy sections of cities to attract attention and targeted owners of the buildings and rescue police to cheat money," Zeng Zhijiang, a police officer from Shangrao city public security department said.

"It is first case nationally for the prosecuting department to charge somebody with claiming to fall from a building," according to a statement by Hengfeng county people's prosecuting department.

Li Fang, from the All China Lawyers Association said that if convicted the suspect could serve a jail term of less than five years and be fined.

"If the circumstances are serious, such as gathering together others to cause trouble in public places or seriously damage social order, suspects will serve sentences of between five to 10 years," she said.