LIMPOPO – FOUR people were sentenced for various crimes by the Mankweng magistrate’s court last Monday.
According to Mankweng police spokesperson, WO Matimba Maluleke, Arthur Magoro (30) received a prison sentence of six years for sexual assault after his victim, who was a minor, told her mother that Magoro had been touching intimate parts of her body.
Maluleke applauded the sentence and said sexual assault was a serious offence and therefore there could be no compromise when sentencing someone guilty of this offence.
In another case, Michaela Tswele (20) received five years’ imprisonment for housebreaking and theft. The incident took place in Mamadimo Park. According to the the complainant, his house was broken into in August 2004.
Maluleke said the police received a tip-off about a house containing stolen property and followed the tip-off, which resulted in Tswele’s arrest.
Wilson Khumbula (18) was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for receiving stolen property. He knew the goods he purchased were stolen, Maluleke said. “This will serve as a deterrent to people not to buy stolen goods,” Maluleke said. He further said no one was above the law and the police would root out criminals. “Such people are a threat. They must be put away so that they can learn to correct their mistakes, while society is allowed to live in harmony. Our children need to grow up in safe environments with no fear of their uncles or aunts abusing them. They should not be denied the opportunity to be children; that is why we need to protect them.”
He urged residents to come forward with any information relating to criminal activities so that the police could act on it.
