A 20-year-old woman was arrested last Monday for perjury, after she allegedly posted on her Facebook page that she had been kidnapped.
Confirming the arrest, Capt Manyadza Ralidzhivha said the girl posted on her Facebook account that she had been kidnapped by unknown people.
“One of her sisters saw the post and immediately notified her mother, who also after seeing the post went to open a case of kidnapping with the police,” explained Ralidzhivha.
Upon opening the case, police began their investigation. “Police investigations kicked off the very same day, and on the next day, Monday, police made a breakthrough. They traced and found her sleeping at her boyfriend’s house at Ivory Park. They were both taken to Tembisa police station where they were further interviewed and it transpired that she was never kidnapped,” said Ralidzhivha.
The woman was then charged and detained.
“We would like to warn people to avoid posting on their social media platforms material that are unfounded and misleading or that can be harmful to themselves and others.
“Let us be careful of such pranks as they may lead to panic and even huge disaster. Please treat social media with care and only post material that are user-friendly,” warned Ralidzhivha.
He argued that cases take a lot of time and state resources to investigate and therefore appealed to the public to work with the police to focus their attention on solving real crimes and not pranks.
