Registering fictitious cases can land you in big trouble with the law. A Melmoth woman in KwaZulu-Natal discovered this after reporting a fake baby kidnapping case.
The 26-year-old woman is expected to appear before the Melmoth Magistrate’s Court today on charges of perjury.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, confirmed that the woman was charged with perjury.
She lied that her imaginary three-month-old baby was snatched from her by three men in the KwaMagwaza area in Melmoth on 13 September.
“Police unleashed a search team comprising different role players to search for the child, and after several hours of extensive search, it came to light that she lied about the kidnapping and that she had never given birth to a baby,” said Netshiunda.
Further probing by police revealed two pieces of fiction.
“Police found that the woman had lied to her boyfriend and his family that she was pregnant and had given birth. The same woman had told her own family that she had a miscarriage. She was then arrested and duly charged with perjury,” said Netshiunda.
Another fictitious case, this time in Madadeni
In a second recent fictitious incident, a 21-year-old woman lied under oath to police that she was raped by her uncle.
It turned out she had made false claims to the police, indicated Netshiunda.
“The uncle in question is already in custody after he was arrested for allegedly raping his 15-year-old niece at Blaaubosch, Madadeni,” said Netshiunda.
The woman was also arrested. Her appearance before the Madadeni Magistrate’s Court is imminent.
Netshiunda indicated that opening false cases was a criminal offence. He further stated that such cases wasted the limited resources police have at their disposal.
Perpetrators of such incidents can expect the full wrath of the law.
“The time that police spend opening imaginary cases and investigating non-existent criminal cases could be spent preventing , combating, and investigating genuine cases opened by real victims of crime,” added Netshiunda.
