Gold tooth busts constable in alleged hijacking

A police constable may be regretting not applying the lessons he learnt during a resolving of crime course after he was shot during a hijacking he was allegedly committing – like forgetting, perhaps, to hide his shiny gold tooth.

Police spokesperson Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said the constable “would likely be charged with perjury after he reported a case of attempted murder whilst he was allegedly injured during a scuffle with a victim of hijacking”.

Dlamini said in a statement: “Initially he claimed that he had been shot [by] a suspect who may have tried to hijack him.

“At a later stage, he was identified at the hospital as one of the suspects who had hijacked a Toyota minibus in Mamelodi.

“He was arrested at the Pholosong Hospital, where he had booked himself for treatment. He was off duty at the time of the incident.”

Except, of course, there’s a little more to it, according to information received by The Citizen.

Actonville Detective Constable Andile Ngcobo, who appeared in the Springs Magistrate’s Court yesterday, is said to have been with three other men when the complainant was allegedly hijacked.

The vehicle was driven to Kingsway in Benoni, where the complainant and at least one friend were dropped off near Lindelani informal settlement, which is apparently where things went wrong for Ngcobo.

A “scuffle” apparently broke out at the drop-off, leaving Ngcobo with a bullet hole in his left upper thigh – from his own comrade.

The complainant made it to the Brakpan police station where he reported the matter to an officer.

It is understood the officer then visited Pholosong Hospital, where Ngcobo was found.

When the officer asked the complainant if the suspect had any identifying features, other than the wound, Ngcobo’s gold tooth came into play.

The SA Qualifications Authority noted in its resolving of crime certification, the qualification “reflects the workplace-based needs of the investigation environment to perform the relevant roles in resolving of crime.

“Criminal tendencies are determined by the desire of the individual, the opportunity that exists to commit crime and the market that creates the need for the crime.”

Ngcobo, plainly, forgot to read the small print.

– amandaw@citizen.co.za

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