Category: Crime & Corruption News

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has conveyed her sincere condolences to the family of a 20-month-old baby who lost his life in an accident involving a water tanker contracted to Rand Water.

Rand Water is an entity of the Department of Water and Sanitation.

According to a report, the truck was delivering water as part of COVID-19 interventions to provide portable water at Lethabong informal settlement in the City of Tshwane when the accident happened.

“To the family and neighbours of the deceased, we cannot imagine what you are going through. Your loss is our loss. We wish you strength as you come to terms with what has happened. Our sincere condolences,” Sisulu said.

The Minister has requested Rand Water and other relevant stakeholders in Tshwane to assist the family as they go through this painful period.

A police investigation into the accident is underway.

The public may now report any police brutality during lockdown at their nearest police station.

According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), this is in response to the judgement handed down on 15 May in the North Gauteng High Court in the matter of Collins Khosa.

Khosa is the 41-year-old man who died after he was allegedly beaten by soldiers and metro police outside his home in Alexandra on 10 April.

The High Court declared that all people in SA are entitled to a number of rights, which cannot be suspended, even during the COVID-19 state of disaster.

These include the right to life, the right not to be tortured in any way and the right not to be treated or punished in an inhumane and cruel way.

SAPS has since capacitated the SAPS’ National Service Complaints Centre to enable the public to also report allegations of police brutality or cruel, inhumane and/or degrading treatment and/or punishment, committed by members of the SAPS.

“Complaints can vary from torture and/or cruel, inhumane and/or degrading treatment and/or punishment, committed by law enforcement members including poor service delivery regarding police response, investigations, police negligence and police misconduct,” the police’s national spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said.

When members of the public report a complaint; the respective complaint will be required to contain detailed information such as full names and surname, identity number, residential/business address, telephone and cell phone numbers and an email address.

Naidoo said the national state of disaster has created an unprecedented situation that requires the co-operation of everyone to prevent, limit, contain, combat and manage the spreading of COVID-19.

“Law enforcement agencies are expected to ensure that the disaster management regulations are adhered to by all inhabitants of the country.”

Members of the public suspected to be in contravention of the disaster management regulations may expect the following to happen:

• Be arrested or requested to accompany a law enforcement officer to a police station.
• If the offence is of a serious nature, the person may be detained, subject hereto that he or she must be brought before a court as soon as reasonably possible, but no later than 48 hours after the arrest.
• The person may apply for bail at his or her appearance in court.
• If the offence is less serious, the community service centre commander or the senior member of the SAPS in charge must consider the release of a person in consultation with the investigating officer.

The public is urged to take note that the guidelines regarding enforcement of the State of Disaster Regulations allow that a law enforcement officer may forcibly confine the body of the arrested person if the person does not submit to custody (in accordance with section 39 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977).

“Furthermore, if the suspect resists the arrest or attempts to flee, section 49(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, authorises an enforcement officer to use force that is reasonably necessary and proportional to overcome such resistance or attempt. However, under no circumstances may a person be tortured, assaulted or mistreated in any manner by a law enforcement officer.”

The public may, for the duration of the state of disaster, report complaints regarding the SAPS at the nearest police station, the National Service Complaints Centre on the toll-free number 0800 333 177 or on the following email addresses complaintsnodalpoint@saps.gov.za or service@saps.gov.za.

While crime in the country continued to remain low during the COVID-19 lockdown, reported cases began to increase after the country moved to level 4 at the beginning of May.

This was revealed by Police Minister Bheki Cele on Friday while giving an update on the levels of compliance and adherence to the lockdown regulations in the country.

Despite the trends yet to be analysed, Cele said authorities believe that the slight increase is due to the relaxation of the lockdown restrictions. The easing of the lockdown has seen increased movement of people and traffic on the road as more companies have gone back to business again.

“While the figures remain low comparatively speaking, we have noted slight increases in some crime categories,” the Minister said.

Towards the end of April, while the country was on level 5, police had recorded 107 000 cases opened, while 118 000 people had been charged for contravention of the lockdown regulations.

“In just over a month, this number has more than doubled and is almost at 230 000 for contraventions,” he said.

This was for contraventions that include liquor and cigarette related offences, illegal gatherings, failure to confine to a place of residence, cross border and inter-provincial movement and business related offences.

Police, said Cele, also continue to grapple with transport related offences, which have actually gone down as the taxi industry has improved in terms of compliance, as well as fraudulent or lack of permits.

“Provinces with the highest number of arrests for contravention of the lockdown regulations almost mirror the provincial infection rates with the Western Cape in the lead, followed by Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng,” said the Minister.

During this period, arrested persons were either issued with fines or released with warning, while some are out on bail and those cases relating to more serious offences are before the respective courts in the country.

“We know that criminals are opportunistic. So organised crime syndicates have taken advantage of the lockdown especially on the ban of alcohol and cigarettes, and have expanded their illegal trade into the illegal market of illicit and counterfeit alcohol and cigarette sales,” Cele said.

Law enforcement has during the lockdown observed an increase in smuggling of liquor and cigarette contraband between South Africa’s land borders with Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as well as the sale of these products on the black market.

“Our lockdown partners the SANDF, have disrupted some of these illegal operations, mainly along South Africa’s borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe; and confiscated contraband including alcohol and cigarettes worth about R1.07 million in March and R1.6 million in April,” he said.

Serious and violent crime

In relation to serious and violent crime, in April, police observed that there was a dramatic decline in contact crime and trio (house and business, and hijackings) crimes category.

A comparison of the same period in 2019, is as follows for violent crimes:

Gender-based Violence and Domestic Violence

The lockdown has also seen a sharp decrease in reported GBV cases, said Cele.

On recent media reports claiming that GBV cases had gone up by 500% during the lockdown. The Minister clarified that the increase was in relation to the number of distressed calls made to the GBV Command Centre, and not necessarily reported cases.

“Actually, when we refer to gender based violence, these would cover all crimes against women and children as well as the LGBTQI community. For instance, if a woman walking to the shops is mugged and robbed at gunpoint of her personal belongings by a random suspect, that incident is recorded as a crime against a woman and therefore falls under GBV,” Cele said.

Therefore, said the Minister, for purposes of measuring the impact of the lockdown on homes and families, police use cases of domestic violence.

“With domestic violence, we refer to incidents such as sexual assault, rape, pointing of firearm, murder, attempted murder, assault and assault GBH, kidnapping and in such instances, the victim and suspect usually have or had a relationship,” he said.

Compared to the same period last year with the lockdown, figures had decreased from 21 033 in 2019, to 6 651 cases of domestic violence during the lockdown, a 68.4% decrease.

“There is a possibility that there could be victims at home who have not or cannot report to the police for different reason. To assist in this regard so that victims do not feel vulnerable, neglected and unprotected, we urge victims to report to the police because police can really only come in after the crime has already taken place in the private space of homes,” said the Minister.

The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has warned small, medium and macro enterprises (SMMEs) against fraudulent agencies purporting to be entities of the department.

“It has come to the attention of the department that an unknown company is requesting food producers and agro-processors to send through proposal to an e-mail address not known by the department, Small Enterprise Finance Agency SOC Ltd (SEFA) or Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda),” said the department on Monday.

The DSBD said it is aware of suspicious email messages attempting to take advantage of the COVID-19 relief funding for SMMEs by soliciting administration fees to fast-track applications.

“Cyber criminals use emergencies such as the National Disaster to steal money from victims, perform identity theft or pretend to be representatives of the department and its agencies using fake emails to scam unsuspecting recipients,” the department said.

The public should note that the department will not be launching any live market access session on Facebook.

“No employee of the department is paid either through emails, inboxes, direct messages (DM) for services rendered on behalf of the department. The facilitation to access services for SMMEs is done for free,” the department said.

Any SMME who receives such a request must immediately report the incident to the COVID-19 Hotline 086 677 7867 or send an e-mail to info@dsbd.gov.za.

Information related to the department can be found on these official websites: www.dsbd.gov.za; www.sefa.org.za; www.seda.org.za; or www.mybindu.org.za.

SMMEs are encouraged to register their businesses on www.smmesa.gov.za.

The New Development Bank (NDB) has issued a statement warning against scammers who swindle the public out of their hard-earned cash by posing as bank employees.

According to the NDB, formerly known as the BRICS Bank, the fraudsters invite individuals and companies to register for training at the NDB’s Sandton offices before releasing assured funds in foreign currencies.

“The recipient of the e-mail or message is then asked to pay an administration or other upfront fee to a different local personal account in order to qualify,” the NDB said.

“The offer is often for a limited period to try and pressure people into responding,” the NDB added.

In other instances, the scammers send an e-mail or other communication that appears to come from the bank, a ministry in government or any other potentially trustworthy source requesting personal information such as identity documents, driver’s licences, passports, addresses, contact details and registration or activation fees.

The organisation explained the bank, established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), only finances infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries.

NDB is not a commercial bank and does not open accounts for individuals, provide them with loans or any form of financing and will never ask for payments or any other favours from potential recipients of funding.

The organisation has since called on people and companies to be cautious about responding to unsolicited messages and be suspicious of e-mails or messages that contain spelling or grammatical errors or other inconsistencies such as Gmail addresses, rather than a company domain e-mail.

“The New Development Bank does not send unsolicited e-mails or any other communication asking the public to open a personal bank account, transfer money, or provide personal information,” NDB Africa Regional Centre Director General, Monale Ratsoma said.

“Be wary of requests for upfront payments or payment for goods or services you have not or do not remember ordering.”

A pharmacy based in KwaZulu-Natal has admitted to excessive pricing of face masks in a consent agreement with the Competition Commission.

The Commission received information relating to the inflated prices of face masks by the Mandini Pharmacy in March.

“A Commission investigation found that Mandini Pharmacy ordered face masks from a supplier with the intention to resell to its customers. It did not sell face masks before March 2020 but decided to source face masks due to the sudden demand and panic-buying brought on by the state of national disaster,” the Commission said.

The Commission found that the gross profit margin in respect of the face masks for March 2020 is a contravention of section 8(1)(a) of the Act read together with Regulation 4 of the Consumer Protection Regulations.

Mandini pharmacy has admitted that it has engaged in the conduct of excessive pricing which amounts to a contravention of section 8(1)(a) of the Act.

This is the Commission’s seventh consent agreement – relating to alleged excessive pricing in the context of COVID-19 – approved as an order of the Tribunal.

The consent agreement has been confirmed as an order of the Tribunal.

In terms of its agreement with the Commission, the pharmacy agrees to:

• Immediately desist from the excessive pricing conduct;
• Reduce its net margin on facial masks with immediate effect; and
• Donate essential goods amounting to R300.00 (the total value obtained from the “overcharge” for face masks) to Mandeni child welfare situated in Mandini.

Five suspects are to appear in the Uitenhage Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape today on charges of business robbery and contravening the Disaster Management Act, said police.

The five were arrested on Sunday after three of the men robbed a supermarket in Mandela Ville in Kamesh. Two shop assistants were held at gunpoint, while others ransacked the store.

The men made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, an airtime machine and a cellphone before fleeing the scene in a beige Toyota Corolla.

Police later spotted the vehicle fitting the description driving at high speed in Melbrooks Street in Uitenhage and gave chase.

The vehicle was cornered and stopped in KwaNobuhle.

Inside the vehicle, police found a rifle, six cellphones and a backpack with cash and airtime machine among others.

All five occupants in the car were arrested and face charges of business robbery and a second charge of contravening the Disaster Management Act.

Police Minister Bheki Cele has issued an apology to the Muslim community for blasphemous remarks made by an officer during the arrest of worshippers at a Mosque on Saturday.

The video of the arrest, where a police officer can be heard making the remarks during the arrest in Masibekela, Mpumalanga, has been doing the rounds on social media. Police had initially said the arrest was made in Pretoria.

The group of worshippers was arrested for contravening the COVID-19 Disaster Management Lockdown Regulations, which prohibit gatherings, including religious assembly.

“Minister Cele has issued an apology to the Muslim community for the blasphemous remarks during the arrest, a matter that is currently under an urgent investigation by the SAPS to establish the identity of the person behind such sacrilege,” acting Police Ministry spokesperson, Brigadier Mathapelo Peters, said in a statement.

Peters said the police have a constitutional obligation to enforce the laws of the country, a duty to be executed within the confines of the same laws, applied with no prejudice against any gender, race or creed.

Police in Gauteng have launched the 72-hour Activation Plan to find the suspects behind the killing of a Sebokeng-based Detective Sergeant.

National Police Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, has assigned the Gauteng Provincial Commissioner to immediately mobilise the 72-hour plan.

According to a police report, at about 7:10pm, the police official had just been picked up by two colleagues — a Detective Sergeant and Detective Constable — and they were on their way to report for duty at their station in Sebokeng.

As they were travelling, they noticed suspicious activity around a vehicle outside a house. It appeared that a person was being forced into the boot of the vehicle.

The SAPS members reversed to investigate but they were fired upon by the men that were at the suspicious vehicle.

The 40-year-old Sergeant was sitting in the back seat of the car when the bullet struck her in the back of her head. The driver immediately drove off to a nearest hospital, where the wounded Sergeant died.

The other two officials escaped the attack unharmed.

Sitole has condemned the attack on the police officers.

“I have tasked the Gauteng Provincial Commissioner to immediately mobilise the 72-hour Activation Plan in an effort to find those responsible for the death of the Sergeant. I have also tasked the management of the police in Gauteng to provide all the necessary support to the family of our fallen colleague,” Sitole said.

The police have appealed to anyone, who may have any information that can lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of this heinous crime, to send tip-offs on the MySAPSApp or to contact the SAPS Crime Stop number – ‪08600 10111.

“All information received will be treated with confidence and callers may remain anonymous,” National Commissioner spokesperson, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, said.

North West Premier, Professor Job Mokgoro, is today visiting Blydeville and Boikhutso townships near Lichtenburg, following a violent community protest.

The protest on Tuesday led to the torching of two police vehicles and an ambulance.

It is believed that the community protest was sparked by the death of two children, after allegedly being hit by a private vehicle and a police vehicle in two separate incidents in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

Mokgoro will visit the families of the deceased children to convey condolences on behalf of the people and the North West Provincial Government.

The Premier, who will be accompanied by members of the Provincial Command Council, will also witness first-hand the damage caused by the protest.

Mokgoro was initially scheduled to launch a post-lockdown housing development programme for 57 identified families in Coleridge, Vryburg.

Due to the developments in Ditsobotla, the visit to Vryburg has been rescheduled to a date that will be announced in due course.

Mokgoro recently visited Vryburg, where he launched a COVID-19 mass screening, testing and contact tracing campaign at the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District.

During the campaign, he noted with great concern the plight of Coleridge residents, who are staying in houses that are in a state of collapse, with asbestos roofs.