Welkom – A wanted burglary suspect has been arrested after leaving his own cellphone at a crime scene, Free State police said in a statement on Wednesday.
Police spokesperson Captain Stephen Thakeng said the local doctor's surgery in the small Free State farming town of Wesselbron was broken into on December 5, last year.
The burglar gained access through the roof of the building, tampered with the alarm system and made off with an undisclosed amount of money.
But, he made one major mistake – he left his cellphone at the crime scene, and police were able to identify its owner, Pasek Tsheisi.
Thakeng said two police officers spotted the suspect on January 27. When he saw the police vehicle he tried to run away, but the officers caught him and arrested him.
He appeared at the Wesselsbron Magistrate's Court on Monday on a charge of business robbery and will return to court on February 7 for a bail application.