Prison time for perfume shoplifter
A 22-year-old woman was recently found guilty of shoplifting, after she stole perfume valued at more than R12 000.
The investigating officer in the case, Det W/O Anton Strydom, has been lauded by Brakpan Police Station management for the successful conviction.
Asanda Mjemia was sentenced to two years imprisonment or a fine of R40 000, when she appeared in the Brakpan Magistrates Court on Monday, August 4.
Half of the sentence was suspended for five years.
Mjemia was detained by a security guard in a store at the Mall@Carnival on June 25, for stealing fragrances worth R12 615.
She was arrested and appeared in court the following day, where she was remanded in custody in order for Strydom to verify her address.
“W/O Strydom could not trace the address in Thokoza given by the accused and established that it was false,” explained Capt Joep Joubert, spokesperson for the Brakpan Police Station commander.
“He then went the extra mile and visited two addresses with the same house numbers in other extensions.
“W/O Strydom compiled a statement with his findings and emphasised that the accused clearly wanted to mislead the court and that, if bail was set, she would not stand trial.”
This resulted in Mjemia not being granted bail, and eventually led to her being found guilty.
“Shoplifting is on the increase in the Brakpan area and in numerous cases it is found that the accused was granted bail and failed to attend court,” said Joubert.
“The dedication shown by W/O Strydom is an example to other detectives.”
