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Couple faked hijacking
19/06/2006 14:07 - (SA)
Johannesburg - A Germiston couple were arrested on Monday morning after police found they had made a false claim to have been hijacked and kidnapped at the weekend.
The 36-year-old man and his 31-year-old wife were arrested for defeating the ends of justice, East Rand police spokesperson Superintendent Andy Pieke said.
They are expected to appear in the town's court on Tuesday.
Pieke said the claim resulted in a massive search for the couple overnight. The East Rand Hijacking Task Team were scrambled after a man informed police at 22:00 on Sunday that his brother-in-law had contacted him earlier saying that he had been hijacked and was in Alexandra, Johannesburg.
"The man had allegedly told his brother-in-law that he and his year-old-baby were being kept in a back room at a house and that his wife had been taken away by the robbers to the main house. The brother-in-law feared the worst," Pieke said.
A team was dispatched to search for the family in Alexandra.
The brother-in-law accompanied them as he knew the vehicle that had supposedly been hijacked by sight.
"The police searched the area but could not find the family."
Police were informed at 04:00 on Monday morning that the family had supposedly been set free by their captors and been able to return with their car to Malvern, Johannesburg where they live.
The search was called off.
The couple were then asked to come to the Germiston police station to make statements regarding the incident.
"The couple were split and when their statements were read there was found to be a discrepancy. Upon questioning them about this the couple were found to have lied about the whole incident."
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