A man was arrested by Bellville police for perjury after falsely reporting a hijacking.
The investigation revealed inconsistencies in his story, including an inability to identify the crime scene and provide Uber records.
Police warn against making false statements for personal gain, emphasising the seriousness of lying under oath.
A man was arrested for perjury by a Bellville police officer on Tuesday 2 July after it was discovered that he had lied while reporting a false case of hijacking.
Spokesperson for Bellville police Lt Col Fienie Nimb told TygerBurger that anyone wanting to register a criminal case to police are subject to sign a perjury document.
“This is to ensure that the information given to police is true and aligns with findings made during investigations,” said Nimb.
This follows a botched criminal investigation reported by the suspect, who is also an e-hailing driver, when he told police his vehicle was stolen during a hijacking on Wednesday 26 June around 22:30 in Frans Conradie Street, Bellville.
“According to his report, he was hijacked at Frans Conradie Street after passing the PicknPay store in Bellville. He told police he was coming from Parow after picking up three men posing as e-hailing clients. On the drive, he alleged that the clients pointed a firearm at him and forced him out of the vehicle and drove away with it.
“However, upon further investigation by Detective Sgt Busisiwa Ngxafane who followed up with the complainant on a drive to point out the scene of the crime, the complainant failed to do so,” Nimb explained.
She added the importance of identifying the crime scene in that it enables police officers to source available CCTV footage in the area, forming part of investigations.
“He ended-up saying he could not remember where the hijacking took place. When he was asked to provide therecords to verify the claim that he went to Parow to collect the e-hailing clients, he told the detective that his phone was also stolen in the hijacking and could not provide such records.”
Investigation
The officer proceeded to ask the owner of the vehicle to assist with tracking the vehicle.
“When the detective received the tracking movement, she discovered that the vehicle was never in Bellville. The complainant thus made a false statement under oath.”
Nimb motivated that there are incidents that people report to police for the sake of an insurance claim, especially cell phones.
“But then they end up wasting the police’s time by making false statements for their own gain.”
Nimb added that they often realise vehicles reported stolen or hijacked turn out to be a vehicle that is linked to another crime or investigation.
“This means that opportunists are prone to report the vehicles stolen or hijacked, in an effort to cover up for another crime the vehicle might be linked to.”
She also explained that once property, like vehicles or cell phones, are reported stolen, the vehicle or cell phone’s serial number is circulated on police systems to pick-up any activity associated with this number.
“As such, we urge people to note the seriousness of lying under oath and wish to remind the public that lying under oath will not be tolerated. If it is discovered that you lied to police under oath, you will be arrested,” Nimb warned.
