Interesting... though in total it did add up to quite a lot... over 13 months spent there in a period of 3 years... maybe that is why they are asking for it? to ensure no criminal record for those 13+ months...
I spent just about 6 months spread over a year in another country when I went to study, with several breaks where I had to come back to my home country (So I was in the foreign country October- November, Jan-March, May-June) and I still sent the PCC, because others had said that there were cases of rejection... so I guess it looks like its not an exact 6 month cut-off...
Did you have a place to stay during those 5+ months? or just hotels?