Handcuffed prisoner steals inside courtroom
A case of theft has been opened after a handcuffed prisoner waiting in court managed to steal a journalist’s voice recorder after she accidentally left it on a bench at the Port Shepstone Magistrates’ Court.
The journalist was covering a court trial on Tuesday. When the court adjourned she left the courtroom, only to soon discover that her voice recorder was missing from her camera bag, South Coast Herald reported.
“I immediately ran back to the courtroom, but it was nowhere to be seen. When court resumed after lunch I was tipped off by someone who didn’t want to be identified about the prisoner’s sneaky actions,” she said.
“I then noticed that the same prisoner had been sitting two places down from where I was sitting earlier.”
It is believed the journalist informed the court officials and police, who immediately searched the prisoner’s belongings and found the missing voice recorder.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Jay Naicker told The Citizen: “We can confirm that Port Shepstone Police Station is investigating a case of theft which happened at Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on March 24. It is alleged that a voice recorder went missing. A 28-year-old male was searched and it was found in his possession. He was arrested and charged for theft. He appeared at Port Shepstone Magistrates’ Court on March 25″.
The voice recorder was returned to the journalist, Port Shepstone police said.
– Caxton News Service
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