A 25-year-old man from Mamelodi, Pretoria, is in court today for perjury after he told police he had been robbed of his cellphone at gunpoint. When a detective phoned the number, it rang in the man's trousers pocket.
Police spokesman superintendent Eugene Opperman says the call left the "complainant" speechless for several minutes.
"The suspect did not want to give an explanation as to why he falsely reported a robbery," Opperman added.
He says the man reported the alleged robbery to the Mamelodi East police station on Saturday. "The detective taking down the statement carefully interviewed the complainant and took down a statement under oath from him.
"He then dialled the stolen phone's number just as the complainant was about to leave the office," Opperman continues. "The phone rang in the complainant's pocket. The suspect remained speechless while the detective removed the 'stolen' cellphone from his pocket."
Opperman says the man then tried to say that he had given the detective the wrong cell number. However, he could not explain why the phone found in his pocket had a corresponding serial number and was of the same kind and description as the one he had reported stolen.
The man was then arrested on charges of perjury and defeating the ends of justice.
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