Former Delmas police officer sentenced to three years for defeating ends of justice, tampering with evidence

The Delmas Magistrate’s Court sentenced a former policeman, Warrant Officer Samuel Bassie Mahlangu (61), to three years’ imprisonment or a R15 000 fine on Wednesday, February 12, for defeating the ends of justice and tampering with evidence.

A police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Thandi Tshabalala, said: “On August 1, 2023, the Hawks conducted a disruptive operation on illegal mining. They discovered some gold-bearing material seized as exhibits had been booked into the SAPS’s exhibits register at the Delmas SAPS. The registers showed that Mahlangu had signed a receipt for the exhibits. The next day, a member of National Crime Intelligence went to the police station to conduct a follow-up investigation on the exhibits, only to find out that Mahlangu had disposed of the gold-bearing material.”

“He claimed he had not been aware that the gold-bearing material were exhibits. He pointed the police to a bin used for garbage at the back of the police station where he claimed he had dumped the exhibits. There were no signs of the disposed exhibits or any indication in writing that they had been disposed of,” Tshabalala said.

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She said the Hawks first summoned Mahlangu to court on May 14, 2024. The investigations spanned over the intervening months until he was finally found guilty and was sentenced on Wednesday.

“One year or R5 000 was suspended for five years on condition that Mahlangu is not found guilty of similar offences during the period of the suspension.”