Three suspects to appear in court for cable theft

Three suspects will appear before the Low’s Creek Periodical Court on a charge of possession of stolen copper cables tomorrow.

Their appearance follows an incident that occurred in Komatipoort on Saturday, 19 July 2014, where four men stole copper cables at Eskom’s Korsbook Electric Sub-station.

The fourth man died at the scene after he was electrocuted while trying to dismantle transformers.

According to the police, the electrocuted man managed to switch off the transformer manually but Eskom officials realised the transformer was off and switched it back on electronically.

“The other suspects loaded their loot as well as the body at the back of an Opel Corsa bakkie and fled the scene. The vehicle however was stopped at Kaapmuiden for routine search and that is when the police found the body and the stolen copper,” said Selvy Mohlala, Spokesperson for the Police.

The three suspects, Meshack Maepa (33), Adolph Makamu (30) and Emmanuel Chauke (29), were then taken in for questioning.
The suspects appeared before the Malelane Periodical Court for possession of copper cables on Monday, 21 July 2014. They were all remanded in custody pending further investigation.

The trio were further charged with theft by Komatipoort police where they appeared in Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court yesterday, 22 July 2014. They were remanded in custody and are due to appear in court again tomorrow.

“The police are also investigating an inquest docket to determine how the fourth man, alleged to have been electrocuted, has died,” he concluded.