Johannesburg

Wednesday

Mostly sunny. Pleasantly warm.

13°C
28°C

7 day forecasts

Cop gets his man - 11yrs later

2008-04-16 08:04

Rozanne Els

Stellenbosch - The law, apart from having a long arm, also can have the memory of an elephant.

Okker Koopman, 39, recently discovered this when he was arrested 11 years after he was supposed to appear in court in connection with house-breaking and robbery.

Apparently it took a while for the penny to drop for Koopman.

Detective Inspector Gabriël Cupido had to describe the 1997 robbery, when tools worth R20 000 were stolen from a house in the main street in Greyton, before it dawned on Koopman what was going on.

A warrant was issued years ago for Koopman's arrest after he had failed to appear in court.

Cupido said Koopman had disappeared without a trace. However, that did not mean that Cupido gave up.

Saw name on computer system

Occasionally, he followed up on new clues and in January this year Koopman's name appeared on the computer system of the Franschhoek police after he was arrested for drunken driving.

Cupido was not sure whether it was the same man so he carefully began making enquiries.

Koopman eventually was arrested on a farm near Franschhoek, more than a decade after the alleged house-breaking and robbery.

Koopman briefly appeared in Caledon Magistrate's Court on Monday and the hearing was postponed to May 20.

Cupido said jokingly to Die Burger that criminals should know that they could run from him for 10 years, but not forever.

- Die Burger

inside news24

Cpt: 15-18°C Rain showers. Decreasing cloudiness. Mild. Pta: 16-31°C Morning clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Jhb: 13-28°C Mostly sunny. Pleasantly warm. Bloem: 12-30°C High level clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 18-31°C Sprinkles early. More sun than clouds. Warm. PE: 14-23°C Drizzle. Broken clouds. Mild.
7 day forecasts...
Western Cape Eastern Cape Kwazulu Natal Gauteng

Germiston - 19:26:23 PM ROAD CLOSURE NOTICE - The on-ramp to the N3 southbound carriageway at the Geldenhuis Interchange will be closed from 9pm and 5am - signed detours will be in operation to guide traffic onto alternative routes More traffic reports...

Here are the winning Lotto numbers from the Saturday, November 7 draw.

18, 24, 25, 31, 35, 42 Bonus 38

Lotto plus: 4, 14, 17, 20, 21, 34 Bonus 3

SMS the word Lotto to 31222 to get lotto numbers sent directly to your phone. The service costs just R10 per month. 
More lotto numbers...

Jobs - Find your dream job

Financial Manager

Gauteng - JHB North/Sandton
Network Recruitment CA- Centurion
R250,000-300,000 Per Annum Cost To Company

BI Specialist

Gauteng - JHB North/Sandton
Hire Resolve
R25,000-35,000 Per Month

Management Accountant

Gauteng - Midrand
Network Recruitment CA- Centurion
R300,000-350,000 Per Annum Cost To Company

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2008 A4 1.8T Multitronics from R 269 000

FORD

Bantam 1.3i XL AC PU MY09
2007
R 89,995.00

NISSAN

Tiida 1.6 Acenta 5-dr
2007
R 99,990.00

VOLKSWAGEN

Polo 1.4 Trendline 5-dr MY05
2008
R 115,995.00

Property - Find a new home

MONTANA

Multiple Unit R1,150,000

BRENTON ON SEA

Single Residential R1,850,000

ORKNEY

Single Residential R1,404,000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!