A former Mpumalanga Warrant Officer accused of allegedly disposing of evidence after booking it appeared in the Delmas Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
Samuel Bassie Mahlangu, who is now a pensioner, has been charged with defeating the ends of justice and tampering with evidence.
Provincial Hawks spokesperson, Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, said the 60-year-old was served with summons on May 14 by the Middelburg-based serious corruption investigation unit after Mahlangu’s case was referred to them for investigation.
Sekgotodi 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 was the one who signed for the exhibit.
The following day, a member of the NCI went to the Delmas police station to collect the exhibits.
However, Mahlangu allegedly told the officer that he discarded the items because he was not aware that they were exhibits that will 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 Sekgotodi.
Sekgotodi added that Mahlangu also failed to record the disposal on the occurrence book.