A hospital employee in Italy is being investigated along with his suspected cohorts after receiving thousands of euros in salaries despite not reporting for work for 15 years.
WE have all heard of stories of public-sector employees in the Philippines receiving salaries for work they have never done, or "ghost employees" popping up on government payrolls.
In Italy, a man allegedly got away with skipping work for 15 years - and getting paid for it.
The man, who worked at a hospital in the southern city of Catanzaro, reportedly stopped turning up to work since 2005.
Despite this, he was reportedly paid a total of €538,000 (P31,000,000) by the hospital, who never seemed to catch up on his absenteeism until 15 years later.
The suspect is now being investigated for fraud, extortion and abuse of office, Italian news agency Ansa reported.
Six managers at the hospital are also being investigated in connection with the alleged absenteeism.
The arrests are the result of a lengthy police investigation into absenteeism and suspected fraud in the Italian public sector.
The employee was a civil servant, and was assigned to a job in the hospital in 2005. It was at this point he stopped going into work, the police said.
The police have also accused him of threatening his manager to stop her from filing a disciplinary report against him.
That manager later retired, police added, and his ongoing absence was never noticed by her successor or human resources. (ONT/with report from BBC News)
Tags: #mysteryandfun, #Italy, #absenteeism