MOSCOW, October 25 (RIA Novosti) – A police driver in St. Petersburg faked injuries from a self-made bomb explosion in order to gain the sympathy of his colleagues, Russian investigators said Friday.
Vadim Spitsyn, a 52-year-old driver for the St. Petersburg Interior Ministry, wanted “to raise his credibility in the eyes of his associates and colleagues,” investigators stated.
Investigators say Spitsyn brought a homemade explosive device to work in January and placed it in the corner of the police office’s front porch.
He lit the fuse with a match and hid behind the door so as not to get hurt when it went off, according to the statement.
The device only partly exploded, investigators said. When startled colleagues rushed to the scene, Spitsyn told them and later the medical services that he had been injured, complaining of severe headaches, loss of consciousness, nausea, and neck and shoulder pain.
Spitsyn told police that “an unidentified person” had set off the bomb. According to the statement, he was involved in attempted insurance claim fraud in 2010.
Police have opened a criminal case against Spitsyn for giving false testimony and misleading information, attempted fraud, trafficking explosives and disorderly conduct.
