Pretoria - Police in Johannesburg Central have arrested a 28-year-old man for perjury, after he registered a “false” case of a cellphone theft on Tuesday.
“The suspect opened a false case of cellphone theft. He alleged that he was robbed of his cellphone, a Huawei Blush Gold Nova 8, worth R11 000, at corner Albert and Main Street, on the February 28, 2022, at 6.30am,” said Johannesburg Central police spokesperson Captain Xoli Mbele.
Police then accompanied the complainant to the scene where he had allegedly been robbed.
“He then changed his story and told the police he was robbed at the corner Marshall and Eloff Street. They took him to view video footage and he refused. He then told the police he was robbed at Maboneng Tavern,” said Mbele.
Preliminary investigations by the police have since revealed that the 28-year-old opened a similar case of cellphone theft last year, in November, and claimed from his insurance.
“An investigation is under way and the suspect will appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on the March 3, 2022,” said Mbele.
“Johannesburg Central Station commander Brigadier Perumal has commended good work done by the police. He urged the community to refrain from opening false cases because that hinders service delivery to genuine cases,” said Mbele.
Last month, a Johannesburg businessman admitted in court that he and his wife received a nearly R1.1m insurance payout, after they falsely reported their SUV as hijacked, during their January 2018 holiday in Durban.
Instead, the husband parked their BMW X5 at the business premises of a friend in Durban, who was not aware of the plan that the apparently cash-strapped couple had hatched, while police searched in vain.
However, Nivesh Seevnarayan, a car dealership owner, stood alone when he made his Section 112 guilty plea and received the subsequent sentencing from Magistrate Anand Maharaj, at the Durban Regional Court, on Friday.
His wife Rashika overdosed and died days after learning that the specialist investigators working on their case had unravelled their scheme, and her arrest was looming.
Section 112 pleas are made voluntarily and only become effective once the presiding officer is satisfied with the facts and that the accused person was indeed guilty.
Seevnarayan pleaded guilty to fraud, defeating the administration of justice, and statutory perjury.
Thereafter, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) lodged a confiscation order application, in terms of Section 18 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, and asked that Seevnarayan pay R50 000.
The cash will be directed to the Criminal Assets Recovery Account (Cara), which has been set-up to aid the country’s crime-fighting machinery.
IOL