INLSA

Police Captain Myen Lazarus, of Sydenham Police, with the wheelchair used by a con artist posing as a beggar.

A wheelchair-bound beggar, warned by police that he posed a danger to motorists and himself by weaving in and out of traffic, stunned motorists when he got to his feet and fled as the officers approached him on Wednesday.

The man, who wears a Muslim prayer hat and dresses in a white kurta shirt, operated at the intersection of Locksley Drive and Moses Kotane (Sparks) or the Jan Smuts Highway intersection, a police spokesman said.

Police said the man’s friend, who sometimes pushed the wheelchair, also fled when police approached.

“Police had first warned the beggar to refrain from weaving between vehicles because it posed a risk to motorists and himself.

“An argument ensued and, when the policeman got out of his vehicle to approach the beggar, he got up and ran with his friend. Police confiscated the wheelchair.”

The spokesman said this should serve as a warning to motorists to stop giving handouts to people at intersections and rather contribute to legitimate organisations.

North Beach community policing forum spokesman, Henry Naidoo, said he was annoyed by the number of beggars, pretending to be disabled, operating on the beachfront.

“We have car guards working long hours daily for meagre takings, while a few people who pretend to be disabled and who operate on weekends can make close to R1 000.

“We watched a ‘disabled’ beggar walking perfectly fine behind the hotel blocks on his way to catch a taxi.

“This is shocking because it hinders any sort of handout for a genuinely poor, disabled person,” he said. - Daily News

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