On account of the recent incident where a Gauteng woman lied about being hijacked, the Boksburg police warn residents against registering fake cases.
Boksburg SAPS spokesperson Sgt Ntsako Ledwaba emphasised that perjury is a serious crime and carries a hefty penalty, imprisonment or a fine.
A few days ago, a woman reportedly said on Twitter she had been hijacked, prompting an intensive police search. She claimed she was tweeting from the boot of her car after being taken by unknown hijackers to an unknown location.
Police investigation subsequently revealed she had fabricated the story, and she was then arrested and charged with perjury and other additional charges.
Also Read: Business robbery turns into perjury
According to the Boksburg police, their station has also recently dealt with a few cases where people fabricated stories and lied in their statements given under oath.
“Our team of detectives established it was all white lies and the people in question were arrested and charged with perjury and defeating the ends of justice or fraud,” said Ledwaba.
In one of the latest cases, an elderly citizen reportedly went to the Boksburg Police Station and claimed he was robbed of his firearm. The firearm in question was subsequently found in his house. He later confessed he was never robbed. He couldn’t remember where he put the firearm in the house and then decided to fabricate the story to register a fake case.
Ledwaba stated some people commit perjury to get case numbers for the purpose of claiming from their insurance companies.
“We get people who claim to have been robbed in their homes or claim their goods were stolen in burglaries, when in fact they have sold or used the goods for other personal gains.”
Ledwaba defined perjury as the crime of deliberately giving a false statement or making a misrepresentation under oath, adding this can be committed in writing or verbally.
“Perjury wastes resources that could be better used to help someone in real trouble. Therefore, we urge the public to refrain from this practice, as serious actions will be taken against anyone who commits perjury,” said Ledwaba.
Also Read: Boksburg North SAPS arrests woman for perjury
