Police refused to open a case of theft, after a Toti complainant recovered her stolen goods.
The complainant, who did not wish to be named, said she was alerted by her dogs barking at about 4am on Tuesday, 23 September on her property in Marian Road.
“The next morning I noticed my welding machine was missing,” she said. “I called the CCPO, who found my machine a while later at a scrap metal dealer in the CBD.”
The woman identified her welding machine. When she went to the police station to give police a statement and open a case to recover her property, the officer on duty said it wasn’t necessary as she had already recovered her stolen goods.
“When I was shown the ID photo of the person who took my machine to the dealer, I recognised him as someone who did some building work for me a while ago. The policeman asked me if I could prove it. When I said I couldn’t, I left. It’s not right that he wouldn’t take my statement and open a case.”
The thief was subsequently arrested and another policeman arrived at the complainant’s house to take her statement. He told her he had admonished the policeman who refused to do so.
Toti SAPS communication officer, Captain Charlene van der Spuy said the police would look into the complaint.
