An Ermelo woman, Sibongile Christine Sibanyoni, appeared in the Ermelo Magistrate’s Court on 29 January on a charge of obstructing the administration of justice and a second charge of fraud.
The case was postponed to 10 February.
The charges arose from an incident on 22 January this year when Sibanyoni falsely led police to believe she had been abducted and taken to Johannesburg.
On that day she told her boyfriend she was going out to register for the ABET (Adult Basic Education and Training), but then failed to return home. Later that night she sent an SMS to her boyfriend saying she had been abducted and taken to Thusi Village.
A while later she sent another message saying she had been taken to Johannesburg.
A case of kidnapping was opened and a police search for the “kidnapped” woman was launched.
On Monday 27 January, police traced Sibanyoni’s phone to a shack in Wesselton and found her inside. She was unharmed and it was established she had not been kidnapped.
