A man has been sentenced to pay a R1500 fine or spend three months in prison for defeating the ends of justice.
April Vusi Mahlangu lied about his car being hijacked when in fact it was repossessed. To go back in time, on February 14, Mahlangu under oath wrote that as he was driving his white Opel Corsa utility when he was hijacked at Geringer Street. The 42-year-old stated that he was on his way to a job interview.
After thorough investigation it was found that the statement given to police was not true. Mahlangu was nabbed for perjury.
Commander of the trio task team Lt Col Solly Thobejane warned the public to not lie when reporting crime incidents at the police station.
“This is a message to everyone to not lie in future. The community must refrain from reporting fake reports. I hope this case sets an example to others out there,” said Lt Col Thobejane.
Mahlangu was found guilty on Monday, October 30 when he appeared at the Witbank Magistrate Court in D Court.
In a separate incident, a Mercedes Benz was hijacked between Saturday, November 11 at 19:30 and Sunday at 02:30 in the Central Business District.
The four suspects dropped the victim off at a place where he saw the Kempton Park and Bronkhorstspruit sign. His cell phone without a sim card, bank cards and a laptop were stolen and shortly after the hijacking, R7000 was withdrawn, using his bank cards. The case was transferred from Welbekend Police Station to Witbank Police Station.
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