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Man awarded $3000 after police 'falsely imprison' him for four minutes

A judge has awarded a Sydney man $3000 after finding he was falsely imprisoned for four minutes by two police officers checking his Opal card.

Sam Le, 24, challenged the transit officers when they asked to see identification at at Liverpool train station in January last year, suspecting the concession card was stolen.

Mr Le recorded the encounter in which he refused to hand over his drivers licence.

"Am I under arrest?" Mr Le asked in the video.

"No you're not, you've been detained," one of the officers replied.

While the officers held Mr Le, one told him to "be a hero" and post the video on social media while asking why he was "being a smart arse" about the situation.

The judge found the officers' suspicion was "tenuous".