Page 32 - Saps News Today

Many South Africans welcome the way police are getting tough on criminals, police minister says

The men and women in blue working behind the scenes seldom come under the spotlight, but two stalwarts of the Nelson Mandela Bay police force received top honours for the work they do in the shadows.

Sidestepping through the crowd, late for the pinnacle Webb Ellis Cup lift by Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, reporters Rosa-Karoo Loewe and Tammy Fray were lost. In the blazing heat of Sunday afternoon, black Clear View fencing separated screaming fans from the stage erected outside the East London City Hall, and the sweating, frenzied Daily Dispatch and GO! & Express journalists were on the wrong side.

An Eastern Cape police officer and a petrol attendant who stand accused of splitting R400 from a state fuel card have been arrested.

More than 30 victims of kidnapping for ransom have been rescued from April this year to date, and 98 suspects have been arrested for the crimes, defence minister Thandi Modise said.

An Eastern Cape police officer charged with R400 fraud using a state petrol card, together with a petrol attendant, was released on R2,000 bail on Friday.

Former cop Ronnie Doko has been found guilty of murdering a priest, a traditional leader and a businessman who the ex-warrant officer killed over a church site dispute two years ago.Doko, 57, appearing in the Mthatha high court sitting in Butterworth on Tuesday, was also found guilty of attempted murder.

Gauteng police have opened a murder case after the widow of a senior police officer involved in the Senzo Meyiwa murder investigation was killed in a drive-by shooting.

Despite increasing crime rates in South Africa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile on Thursday expressed his full confidence in police minister Bheki Cele, his deputy Cassell Mathale and national commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola.

The family of British surgeon Kar Hao Teoh, who was shot dead while on holiday during a violent minibus taxi strike in Cape Town, have spoken out for the first time about their traumatic ordeal.