Police in Kingston, Ontario, were called to the scene by a man who claimed two thugs assaulted him on his way to work and tried to steal his wallet.

The man had a swollen lip and a possible broken nose, the Whig Standard reports.

After questioning him, the police began noticing holes in his story. Eventually, he broke down and told the truth: He’d punched himself in the face several times and concocted the mugging story to use as an excuse to skip work.

Police didn’t release the name of the man’s employer, but the officer who questioned him said, “I can only assume that they didn’t have a great sick plan where he works.”

In the end, the cops were kind enough to give the “victim” what he wanted. He got the day off — but he had to spend the day in jail for filing a false police report.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen an employee do for a day off? Let us know in the comments section below.

A bit of HR history: Soon after a workplace became the first to institute employee drug testing, an employee at that company created the first excuse to avoid being tested.

And since then, workers have come up with tons of ideas on avoiding or getting around the tests – anything from calling in sick to purchasing one of those products that promises to “cleanse” your system.

File this one under extreme excuses: I can’t come in to work today to take my drug test because I’ve been shot.

The employee in this case wasn’t lying. He really was shot. In fact, he asked a friend to shoot him so he didn’t have to report to work.

Daniel Kuch of Pasco, Washington, told police he’d been the victim of a drive-by shooting while jogging, according to wire service reports.

Later, Kuch fessed up to purposely getting shot in the shoulder to miss work.

Kuch is expected to be charged with false reporting; his friend faces reckless endangerment charges.

Police won’t say where Pasco worked. May not matter because he probably doesn’t have a job anymore.