A young girl will appear in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga on Monday with her boyfriend after the couple allegedly pretended to be kidnapped and demanded a ransom of R1m from the girl’s mother.
Police spokesman Leonard Hlathi said the two, both 20 years old, were charged with obstruction of justice after the girl was reported missing at the Bosbokrand police station on October 10.
Hlathi said the girl’s mother received a message later that day demanding the ransom in exchange for her daughter.
An investigation, meanwhile, led police to the girl’s boyfriend, who allegedly conspired with his girlfriend and contacted her mother from her cellphone. The couple allegedly used another SIM card in the phone to send the message.
However, according to information reported to the police this week, the couple was seen together after police arrested both suspects at a friend’s house on Wednesday.
Hlathi says the SIM card from which the message was sent was also found in the boyfriend’s possession.
Police warn against reporting false cases and remind the public that it has serious consequences for offenders.
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