PHNOM PENH, July 7: Cambodia police imprisoned a soccer fan for 48 hours for faking the theft of his motorcycle, which he had lost in a bet on a World Cup match, police said on Friday.

Sok Pagna, 19, borrowed US$100 from a friend on Wednesday ahead of the France-Portugal match, and turned over his motorcycle as collateral, said police chief Kuy Phalla in the capital, Phnom Penh.

He put the money on Portugal, who lost 1-0.

With no cash to recover his bike, Sok Pagna told his mother that three men had stolen it from him on a Phnom Penh street. His mother escorted him to the police to file a theft report, Kuy Phalla said.

An investigation found that no robbery had occurred, and Sok Pagna confessed. Police decided to teach him a lesson by throwing him in jail for two days, Kuy Phalla said.—AP