CrimeNews

Officers accused of corruption

An officer allegedly collected a woman's fridge and TV from a loan shark's home, claiming to assist the woman - but the items have since gone missing.

The COURIER interviewed a very emotional woman who accused the Booysens police officers of working together to cover up the corruption of some of their members.

A Turffontein woman, who asked not to be named, said in December of 2014 she ran out of money as there was a strike at her workplace and she subsequently found herself unable to make her rent.

She then approached a foreign national man who happened to be a loan shark and asked to be loaned R1 700, but the man said he did not trust South Africans to pay back their loans. So they agreed that the loan shark (known as Peter) would hold, in his possession, her plasma TV and fridge until month end, when she would pay back the money with interest.

According to the woman, Peter was arrested for (allegedly) killing a person towards the end of that month and was arrested, and released on bail of R500 the same night. She further explained that, according to locals in the area, Peter then fled to Germany.

She said she tried to get the police to help her collect her property from Peter’s landlord because the landlord initially wanted her to hand over the R1 700 owed to Peter so it could be used to cleanse the yard, since Peter had allegedly killed someone in that yard.

She refused because she thought Peter could later return and still ask her for his money.

“I later approached the small claims court where the landlord was ordered to hand over the goods,” she explained.

An officer went to the house to collect the items and promised to bring them to her house but never did so, she told the COURIER – and this is her biggest concern.

The woman said she then went to the station and spoke to another officer, who requested that she hand over to him the money she owed Peter.

The woman explained that the request did not make sense to her so she approached ward 55 DA Clr Rashieda Landis and they both approached the station and were told that, in order to open a case against one of the officers who works at the station, they should go to another police station. They then went to Johannesburg and opened a case. But the case number she was given was from one of her old cases that had nothing to do with the issue at hand.

She explained that she has tried everything to deal with the Booysens officers but every time she goes there she ends up fighting with them and she cannot take it anymore. She said she even visited the IPID offices with DA PR Clr Meyers and they were supposed to return to finalise things so that a complaint could be recorded but have not been able to do so because of their different work schedules.

She said she has been sent from pillar to post numerous times and still has to pay installments on the plasma TV and fridge although they are no longer in her possession.

She further said she suspects foul play on the part of the Booysens police and claims she was even offered a job by the officers when she went to complain a while back. She refused the offer, saying she does not want their job but her fridge and plasma TV.

BOOYSENS SAPS

The COURIER communicated with the police and on March 15, communications officer

Capt Lorraine van Emmerik released a statement saying that Booysens SAPS received the complaint and are busy looking into the allegations stated.

COUNCILLORS

DA ward 55 Clr Rashieda Landis confirmed that she did visit the police with the woman when she raised this complaint a while back and a certain officer informed her that he was investigating the matter.

DA ward 124 PR Clr Tyrell Meyers said he cannot intervene in this situation since it is a police matter but as the complainant was not getting any assistance from the police station after taking the matter to the station commander, he referred the complainant to IPID (Independent Police Investigation Directorate), as they have the means to assist.

The COURIER will continue to follow up and report on all developments.

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