Pietermaritzburg – praag.org

DA-councillor signs for two-hour sex chat summons

A R1 920 bill for a two-hour phone call to a sex line had a veteran DA councillor in the Msunduzi Municipality blushing when he unwittingly signed for the summons demanding payment that was delivered to his office last month.

On Thursday, councillor Bill Lambert told the municipality’s executive committee he was appalled when he read that the summons was for an unpaid bill for a call to a sex line made from the reception desk in the office suite a year ago.

Security in the municipal building in Pietermaritzburg had to be beefed up, he said, as there was no way of knowing who had made the call.

He was alone in the office when the summons “for services rendered by Our Way Adult Chatline” was delivered. The envelope was addressed to “the owner of the company” and, without knowing what it was, Lambert took delivery.

“I was horrified, and the other councillors were equally horrified, that someone was in our office making the two-hour call,” he said.

The municipality has started an investigation into the sex call, and a report into it will be compiled.

Source: IOL

Police constable among three arrested hijackers

On Sunday, 8 December 2013 at about 13:45, members of SAPS Camperdown received a report from a cash-in-transit driver waiting at a local supermarket in Camperdown that a suspicious black VW Polo sedan was following them. Police immediately responded and found the suspicious vehicle parked nearby. The members with the assistance of the SAPS Pietermaritzburg Flying Squad and SAPS Pietermaritzburg Organised Crime Unit circulated the vehicle and discovered that it was hijacked in the Ladysmith area in September 2013.

Three (3) male suspects, seated inside the vehicle, were immediately arrested. On searching the vehicle Police found an unlicensed 9mm CZ75 Pistol and 15 live rounds, believed to have been stolen in the Durban Central area March 2009. It is alleged employees in the cash-in-transit vehicle were on a routine collection from Cato Ridge area to Camperdown when they noticed the suspicious vehicle following them. They immediately stopped at the supermarket and contacted the Police. The suspects are aged between 30 and 40-years of age. One of them is believed to be a police constable from Beaufort West. They will make a court appearance in the Camperdown Magistrate’s Court shortly on charges of possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition. They will also be charged at Ladysmith for hijacking and in Durban for theft of a firearm. Investigations are continuing. – praag.org and SAPS media release

Police find stolen and unlicensed firearms

An intelligence driven joint operation by Pinetown Cluster and Pietermaritzburg Cluster Tactical Response Team members on Saturday, 30 November 20913 produced positive results. During their operations, four suspects aged 21 and 32 were arrested for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. The suspects are due to appear today, 2 December 2013 in the Mpumalanga Magistrate’s Court for possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

It is alleged that three suspects were arrested while on their way from the funeral at Mophela area near Mpumalanga Township. Two pistols, a revolver and seven rounds of ammunition were seized from them. On a follow up information, the members proceeded to Mpumalanga Township where they found a fourth suspect in possession of an unlicensed pistol with two live rounds. He was also arrested and charged with possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Two of the recovered firearms were reported stolen in Durban area during December 2003 and August 2013. All recovered firearms will be sent for ballistic tests to determine whether they were used in any crime in the country. The suspects are due to appear in the Mpumalanga Magistrate’s Court today, Monday, 02 December 2013. – South African Police Service

Provincial commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal, Lt General Mmamonnye Ngobeni welcomed the arrest and the recovery of unlicensed firearms by the members. She appeals to the public to continue providing the police with any information about any criminal activities in their areas including illegal firearms. Anyone who wish to provide information can contact our crime stop number 08600 10111.

Man raped his step-daughter ‘to heal her’

A 60-year-old man has been jailed for life by the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court for raping his teenaged step-daughter, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday.

The man was sentenced on Tuesday for raping his daughter for eight years, said Colonel Jay Naicker.

The daughter was 16-years-old when he started raping her in 2004.

The man told the then sick teenager to sleep with him so she could be healed.

She was too afraid to report the matter to her family because he threatened to kill her if she did, said Naicker.

The girl eventually reported the rape in 2011.

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Mmamonnye Ngobeni said crimes against women and children remained a priority for the police.

“This conviction gives hope to those that are abused,” he said. – Sapa

Mob justice in KZN: suspected burglar killed

A mob justice scene in Khayalitsha, near Cape Town

Four people have been arrested for allegedly killing a suspected burglar in Panorama Gardens, Pietermaritzburg, on Sunday morning, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

A 27-year-old man was found dead with multiple injuries in a drain after he was apparently caught trying to break into a house in the area, Colonel Jay Naicker said.

“We urge members of the public to report any criminal activity to police and allow justice to take its course.”

The four would appear in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court soon. – Sapa