Lonely, He Calls '911' 45,210 Times in a Year to Chat

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 22 October 2018)


The Bayrampaşa prosecutor has prepared this CSI
mock-up for the trial.

Şeref Can (55) lives in Bayrampaşa, Istanbul.  In the course
of one year Can called the police emergency number 155
(like 911) 45,210 times (!) because he was lonely and
wanted to talk to someone.  Can now faces 5 years in jail
for disrupting public services.

Because Can called the 155 personnel and occupied them
with idle chats about his morale and motivation, he became
the subject of an investigation. The resulting report found
that between 15 May 2017 and 15 May 2018, Can called
155 a total of 45,210 times (!) but never with any police-
related information.

Can explained in his statement to investigators that "I
got divorced from my wife two years ago. I was drinking
all the time.  Since I was in a psychological depression
and didn't have anyone else to talk to, I called the police.
I regret it and won't do it again."  Can will face a judge
with regard to the charges in the coming days.