POLOKWANE – Purchasing secondhand goods without demanding proof of ownership and -identity from the seller, could be the cause of ending up with a criminal record for the rest of your life.
Local secondhand business owner, Joyce Maluleke, found herself in such a situation last week. She said she was fortunate that she could resolve the problem without any criminal charges being brought against her. She was also grateful that she was able to preserve the good name of her business, she said.
The incident occurred when Maluleke was confronted by the Mamabolo family who identified a sound system that Maluleke had bought the week before, as theirs. The sound system was on a list of items stolen from the Mamabolo’s home during a burglary almost a month ago. The burglary occurred while Jerry Mamabolo and his wife, Refilwe, were out visiting friends.
“We reported the matter to the police and started looking for our belongings at secondhand dealers in the city. We found our sound system in one of these shops. We confronted the owner, who is also the manager (Maluleke), and were told that a man had sold the sound system to her,” Mamabolo told Review.
According to Maluleke, she was approached by a man who was in his 30’s. The man said he was selling the sound system on his girlfriend’s behalf and produced her identity document. “The man told me his girlfriend had been laid off work and was struggling to look after their baby. He said he had been going all over the city to try and sell the sound system. I took his word when he gave me the woman’s identity document, and bought the sound system from him,” Maluleke said. She said she only found out when the Mamabolo’s approached her, that the both the sound system and the identity document had been stolen.
The sound system was returned to the Mamabolo’s who decided not to press charges against Maluleke.
Polokwane police spokesperson WO Lesiba Ramoshaba said dealers in secondhand goods should be sure to contact the nearest police station if they suspected that a person was selling stolen items. “If a business owner is found in possession of stolen property he or she can be prosecuted and face charges of dealing in stolen property, which is a very serious charge,” Ramoshaba warned.
According to Secondhand Dealer and Pawn Board director, Tom Fuhri, the Secondhand Goods Act 6 of 2009 makes it compulsory for a secondhand dealer to belong to an accredited association in order to assure that both the dealer and the public who buy and sell from the dealer are protected. The act states that any secondhand dealer should acquire an identification document from the seller of a product over the value of R100 and that the seller should sign a statement proving that he is the rightful owner of the item to be sold.
“Dealers who do not comply with this law and do not apply the regulations open themselves to a lot of problems. If these procedures are not followed the dealer can even find him- or herself part of a criminal investigation and face charges of dealing in stolen property and being in possession of stolen property,” Fuhri said.
Secondhand dealers who would like to register with the organisation can do so on www.pawnsecboard.co.za
