Retired officer faces R15,000 fine for disposing of evidence in illegal mining case

A former Mpumalanga Warrant Officer who disposed of evidence after booking it was fined R15,000 or face three years imprisonment.

Samuel Bassie Mahlangu, now a pensioner, appeared in the Delmas Magistrate’s court on Wednesday for defeating the ends of justice and tampering with evidence. 

Hawks spokesperson, Warrant Officer Thandi Tshabalala said the 61-year-old was served with a summons on May 14, 2024, by the Middelburg-based serious corruption investigation unit after his case was referred to their unit for investigation.

Tshabalala said that on August 1, 2023, members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and the National Crime Intelligence (NCI) conducted an operation on illegal mining, during which they seized gold-bearing material and booked it in the South African Police Service (SAPS) exhibit register at Delmas police station.

Mahlangu signed up for the exhibit.

The following day, a member of the NCI went to the Delmas police station to collect the exhibits.

However, Mahlangu told the officer that he discarded the items because he was unaware that they were exhibits to be used in a case.

“He further showed them where he had dumped the exhibits in a bin used for garbage at the back of the police station,’’ said Tshabalala.

Tshabalala added that Mahlangu also failed to record the disposal on the occurrence book.

"The former police member was sentenced to three years imprisonment with an option to pay a R15,000 fine. One year or R5,000 was suspended for five years on condition that the accused is not found guilty of similar offenses during the period of the suspension," said Tshabalala.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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