Police urge public not to report false cases after man lies about armed robbery to cover up own alleged theft

The South African Police Service (SAPS) have appealed to the public not to report false cases after a man lied about an armed robbery at the shop he worked at in which he said R560 000 was taken.

The man later admitted that he lied about the robbery, but it was also discovered that he made it up to inform his employer that he was robbed while thousands of rand were discovered in his home.

The SAPS spokesperson, FC Van Wyk, said reporting false cases is a crime.

“All reported incidents will be investigated thoroughly, and false claims are usually detected during this process.”

This follows a case of armed robbery report to the Cape Town Central SAPS, alleging R560 000 as well as three cell phones had been stolen.

“The complainant was interviewed on the same day and taken to crime scene.

“After further investigation it was found that there is a CCTV camera mounted outside where the crime occurred and the footage was viewed and nothing could be seen of the incident that had been reported,” Van Wyk explained.

The investigating officer then approached the complainant with these findings, who eventually admitted to the officer that he had made up the whole story.

He said, according to Van Wyk, “that he was never robbed because he had lost the money that was meant for his employer and opened a false case”.

He then tried to bribe the officers with R10 000 “to make the case disappear”.

However, when the officer went to the man’s house, he discovered R247 000.

This money was seized as evidence.

“The suspect informed the investigating officer that there was never R560 000. He stated he had made it all up to inform his employer he was robbed,” Van Wyk said.

The man was arrested on charges of perjury and bribery and is set to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

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