The Cape Town Central Police Station has warned members of the public against reporting false cases after two women were arrested last week, claiming that they were hijacked.
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According to station commander Brigadier Marius Stander, the SAPS will not hesitate to act against such culprits.
This comes after two women, aged 31 and 38, respectively, were arrested on Tuesday for defeating the ends of justice after reporting that they were hijacked in Sir Lowry Street, District Six, by an unknown car guard.
However, News24 reports that the police investigation, led by Serious and Violent Crimes Detective Sergeant Lwandile Msindo, established that the husband of one of the suspects sold the car on Facebook Marketplace.
The man was reportedly unaware that his wife reported a false case.
The woman and her coworker, who served as her witness, were both taken into custody on Tuesday and showed up in Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on 27 July.
Stander expressed concern that reporting false cases (defeating the ends of justice and perjury) ‘is becoming a norm’ at the station, as he commended Msindo for arresting the two suspects and denounced acts by the community that wilfully lie or make a misrepresentation under oath.
He explained that cases that are falsely reported to the police inflate the overall crime statistics in the policing precinct, where robbery is a serious concern.
‘Moreover, reporting of false cases waste the police’s time and resources which could have been utilised effectively on investigating other serious cases. Community members are urged to refrain from opening false cases at police stations. Defeating the ends of justice and perjury is an offence that is punishable by law. We will not tolerate any misuse of State resources,’ said Stander.
The communications officer at the station, Ezra October, said the perpetrators were released on R500 bail each and will make a second court appearance on Friday 4 August.
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