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A man was arrested by Free State police for allegedly opening several fake hijacking cases.
- Free State police have arrested a man who allegedly admitted opening several false hijacking cases.
- They said he told them he opened the false cases so that he could appeal for donations.
- He was arrested and charged with perjury.
A 42-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after he admitted that he had opened a string of false hijacking cases so that he could appeal to business owners for donations, according to police.
He was arrested on Saturday and charged with perjury after opening a hijacking case in the Free State. The Zimbabwean man has also been charged in connection with an allegation that he is in South Africa illegally.
Sketching the events that led up to the arrest, Free State police spokesperson Colonel Thabo Covane said the man arrived at the Parkweg police station on Saturday and claimed he had been hijacked in his Toyota Hilux.
"A case docket was opened but taken to Navalsig police station to be registered.
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Navalsig officers reported the incident to the station commander, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Wynadt George Moorcroft, who went to the scene.
Moorcroft decided to initiate a preliminary investigation because the man still had his valuables, including his cellphone, in his possession.
"A check conducted on [the] crime administration system indicated that the complainant had opened several cases, including those at Mahikeng, Harrismith and Biesiesvlei police stations, with similar allegations that he had been hijacked."
The station commander also contacted Verkeerdevlei Toll Plaza to check whether the vehicle had passed one of the points there.
Covane said:
There was no vehicle with the given description that passed through any point at the toll gate. The suspect then voluntarily admitted that he had opened false cases to collect donations from foreign national communities of business owners.
The man was then arrested.
According to Covane, he told police that business owners had given him money.
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"We don't know if there could be other cases registered under different names," Covane said.
The man is expected to appear in Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court soon.
English (US)