The Cape Town Central Police Station has issued a stern warning against people who report false cases.
Station commander Brig Marius Stander says they will not hesitate to act against the culprits.
This comes after two women were arrested for defeating the ends of justice on Tuesday 25 July.
The women, aged 31 and 38 years, allegedly reported to the police that they were hijacked in Sir Lowry Street, District Six by an unknown man acting as a car guard.
However, police investigation, led by serious and violent crimes detective sergeant Lwandile Msindo, established that the husband of one of the suspects sold the car on Facebook marketplace.
He was not aware that his wife reported a false case.
The woman and her colleague, who acted as her witness, were arrested on Tuesday and appeared in Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 27 July.
Stander says it is concerning that reporting false cases (defeating the ends of justice and perjury) “is becoming a norm” at the station.
The officer commended Msindo for arresting the two suspects and denounced acts by the community who wilfully lie or make a misrepresentation under oath.
He says cases that are falsely reported to the police inflate the overall crime statistics in the policing precinct, especially the Western Cape, Cape Town, where robbery aggravated is a serious concern.
“Moreover, reporting of false cases waste the police’s time and resources which could have been utilised effectively on investigating other serious cases. Community members are urged to refrain from opening false cases at police stations. Defeating the ends of justice and perjury is an offence that is punishable by law. We will not tolerate any misuse of State resources,” explained Stander.
Cpt Ezra October, communications officer at the station, says the perpetrators were released on R500 bail each and will make a second court appearance on Friday 4 August.
