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Man arrested after buying a beer for a homeless person

A man has claimed he was arrested after police noticed he gave a beer to a homeless person, who then proceeded to drink the beverage in public.

Zan Maritza, 39, was walking home through Fremantle, south of Perth, on Saturday morning and walked past a homeless man who was sitting on the outskirts of the city’s popular markets.

The Fremantle consultant told Yahoo News Australia the homeless man first asked for some money, then noticed he was carrying a six pack of Victoria Bitter, so asked for a beer.

Fremantle man pictured alongside VB six pack after handing a beer to a homeless man and getting arrested.
Mr Maritza claimed he was arrested after giving a homeless man a beer. Source: Facebook/Getty Images

“I was like, ‘yeah sure’ and I passed him one, but then he opened it and the police drove by and stopped,” Mr Maritza said.

He claimed the police then decided they would take him back to the police station, where he said he was kept for two hours.

Mr Maritza said officers told him it was wrong that he “encouraged bad behaviour of a homeless man drinking in public”.

Street drinking is banned on any public road or street in Western Australia.

Fremantle Markets are shown after a man was arrested for allegedly giving a homeless person a beer.
A homeless man allegedly opened a beer near the Fremantle Markets. Source: File/Getty Images

Mr Maritza claimed he told officers he would pursue the matter in court, as he believed he wasn’t in the wrong.

“I was confident I did not do something wrong,” he said.

After being kept for two hours, Mr Maritza said he was released after police told him “don’t do it again”.

Yahoo News Australia has contacted Western Australia Police for comment on the matter.

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