Johannesburg - Police vowed on Friday to take strong action against a policeman who allegedly took part in the looting of foreign-owned shops in Soweto.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt-General Lesetja Mothiba warned other police officers to be careful they did not find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
“They must resist from turning into criminals themselves,” Lesetja said.
He was speaking at a press briefing held at the Moroka police station on Friday morning.
The police officer was apparently filmed participating in looting in Dobsonville earlier in the week in clashes between foreigners and locals that have killed two people - a local teenager and a foreign national.
Gauteng's community safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane on Thursday said the officer, who was stationed Dobsonbville, had been identified from the clip and would be formally charged.
A total of 121 people had been arrested since the looting began in Soweto on Monday and were expected to appear in courts around Soweto on Friday, said police.
The looting came after a foreigner allegedly shot and killed 14-year-old Mthetheleli Siphiwe Mahori who he claimed was part of a group that tried to rob his shop.
Looting had since spread to the Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, and Kagiso on the West Rand with dozens of foreigners being taken for refuge by police.
He said the police were managing the situation.
Sapa