Constable is fined R1,000 for stealing chewing gum worth R10 at supermarket
16 May 2012 | Sibongile Mashaba, Mpumalanga Correspondent
Security guards checked her till slip
A MPUMALANGA reserve constable has been sentenced to 60 days imprisonment, with the option of paying a R1,000 fine, for stealing a packet of chewing gum worth R10 at a supermarket in Kwaggafontein.
Reserve constable Joyce Siphiwe Mahlangu, 39, was arrested on Monday for stealing Beechies at Shoprite.
Mahlangu, who was on duty when she committed the crime, walked into the supermarket to buy toiletries, said Mpumalanga police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Hlathi.
"When she was about to leave the shop, security guards at the door checked her slip and the things she had bought.
"The guards found that she had not paid for the packet of Beechies in her possession."
He said Mahlangu faced a charge of theft and had first appeared in the Kwaggafontein Magistrate's Court on Monday where she was released on free bail.
Yesterday, Mahlangu appeared again and was found guilty of theft and sentenced to 60 days with the option of a R1,000 fine.
Although Mahlangu received a slap on the wrist from the court for the crime, the matter seems far from over at her workplace.
Hlathi said she would be investigated and charged internally as well.
"She paid the fine but an internal probe will be instituted. Certain steps will be taken," he said.
- mashabas@sowetan.co.za
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/05/16/constable-is-fined-r1000-for-stealing-chewing-gum-worth-r10-at-supermarket
