Court takes a stand against crime
Crime in the area will not be tolerated by the courts.
MALALANE – This was evident during the court appearance of Zanele Sithole, a 33-year-old mother of a one-month-old baby, on June 1 in the local Magistrate’s court.
Sithole appeared on charges of shoplifting, after she was arrested for stealing R1 090.60 worth of groceries at Malalane SUPERSPAR.
In her plea for compassion from the court, Sithole stated she WAS unemployed but that she would be able to pay a maximum fine of R2 000.
Magistrate Mr Lucky Mhlanga found this very strange and questioned how she was going to be able to raise the funds.
“In this court we have a problem with two crimes, possession of dagga and shoplifting. There is a syndicate of people who hire people to steal items in shops, pay them for it, and resell the goods. If it happens that they get caught these guys come here to court, sit and listen as to how the court handles such cases. Right after court is done you get people running around paying all these fines,” Mhlanga explained.
Sithole was fined R2 000 or two years imprisonment, and an additional R2 000 was suspended for five years. She was released upon paying the fine.
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