Springs SAPS arrested a 49-year-old woman recently for allegedly faking her own kidnapping and demanding a R15 000 ransom from her daughters.

The woman was arrested alongside two men, aged 39 and 43, who were charged with kidnapping, while she was charged with defeating the ends of justice.

According to Springs police spokesperson Sergeant Charity Zwane, one of the woman’s daughters received a call from a Xhosa-speaking man claiming her mother had been kidnapped and demanding R15 000 for her release.

“On the same day, the daughter called her mother’s cellphone via WhatsApp. The call was answered by the same man, who again demanded money.

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“She told him she was still gathering the funds, and he instructed her to deposit the money into her mother’s bank account,” Zwane said.

Zwane added that the daughter and her sister rushed to the police station to report the matter, and a case of kidnapping was then opened.

“While walking to the taxi rank, they spotted their mother sitting and drinking with two men. They alerted the police, who, upon questioning the men, were informed by one of them that the woman had asked them to stage the kidnapping,” added Zwane.

The police arrested both men for kidnapping and the woman for defeating the ends of justice. They all appeared at the Springs Magistrate’s Court, and the matter was postponed to October 30.

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