A man claims he was arrested and detained by police for two hours after giving a beer to a homeless person.
Zan Maritza was left baffled by the ordeal - which he is now considering taking legal action over.
The 39-year-old consultant was walking home through Fremantle, south of Perth in Australia, when he passed the destitute man sitting down on the floor.
Mr Martiza says the man first asked for money, but then spotted he was carrying a six pack of Victoria Bitter so asked for a beer.
“I was like, ‘yeah sure’ and I passed him one, but then he opened it and the police drove by and stopped,” Mr Maritza told Yahoo News Australia.
He claims police then took him back to the police station, where he said he was kept for two hours.
He said officers told him it was wrong that he “encouraged bad behaviour of a homeless man drinking in public”.
In Western Australia, street drinking is banned on any public road or street.
“I was confident I did not do something wrong,” Mr Martiza added.
After being kept for two hours, he said he was released after police told him “don’t do it again”.
