Benoni SAPS investigating officers refusing to open case
A formal case has since been opened and investigations are continuing.
A business owner was allegedly turned away and refused assistance on August 15 when he attempted to report a case of truck hijacking at the Benoni Police Station.
According to Anton Koen, of NoJack Vehicle Tracking and Anti-hijacking Unit in Northmead, the driver of a truck and two trailers transporting appliances contacted his employer claiming that he was hijacked on the N12, past the Putfontein off-ramp.
“We were immediately notified of the situation and teams were dispatched,” said Koen.
“While we were responding to the hijacking location, I instructed the owner of the truck to report the matter directly to the police station for a possible look-out to be circulated.”
It is alleged that at the police station’s Client Service Centre (CSC) attending officers, refused to open a case stating that only the driver of the truck can do so.
“I was shocked out of my shoes, I could not understand that the officers would insist on the presence of the driver, while according to our information he was taken along with the truck,” he said.
“We managed to recover the truck, not too far from the initial location but the driver and trailers were still missing.
“The truck was driven to the Benoni SAPS, where officers still refused to assist the complainant.”
As tempers started flaring Koen then decided to contact Colonel Khumbulani Ndaba, the station’s VISPOL commander.
“Shortly after, the officers on duty received a call and we were promptly assisted,” said Koen.
The truck driver was found the next day. He managed to get to the Springs Police Station after the suspects dropped him off at an unknown location.
Responding to the complaint, which was originally circulating on Facebook, Captain Nomsa Sekele, spokesperson for the police station stated that the station commander, Brigadier Thabo Maphuthi is aware of the complaint and that a departmental investigation into the matter is underway.
“In cases like these a docket cannot be immediately opened but the officers on duty should have registered an inquiry until the driver was located, in line with the national instruction of 72 hours,” said Sekele.
“Refusal to assist the community in such incidents contributes to an offence and will not be tolerated.”
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