Criminal case opened against police officers caught on tape ‘stealing cash’ from shop

The South African Police Service (SAPS) confirmed that the three officers who were caught stealing cash from a shop after a video emerged on social media were identified and a criminal case was registered against them.

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police spokesperson brigadier Jay Naicker said the officers were identified after the management at the Vryheid police station was alerted to the matter last week: “A video was seen circulating on social media where police officers can be seen stealing money from a business premises.

“They were able to identify the police officers from the footage and the provincial anti-corruption unit was contacted. The anti-corruption unit immediately opened a criminal case and the shop was identified from the footage,” he said.

Naicker said the owner of the shop was approached, but refused to provide detectives from the anti-corruption unit with a statement to implicate the officers in the theft.

The brigadier further said the police would endeavour to solicit the assistance of the owner of the shop to pursue the criminal investigation.

“Meanwhile, police management has initiated an internal investigation to ensure that the culprits are brought to book in terms of our internal disciplinary regulation,” he said.

This comes after the Democratic Alliance (DA) called on KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner General Khombinkosi Jula to suspend the officers and suggested that they must be jailed if found guilty.

Meanwhile, the police launched an investigation after a nurse was found dead inside a bathroom at Addington Hospital in Durban.

According to police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala, the healthcare worker, who had reportedly tested negative for Covid-19, was found dead in the restroom last Thursday.

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