“During the trial it was discovered that the suspect had nine previous convictions of housebreaking and theft and that he was still on parole at the time”
A 35-YEAR old Northern Cape man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Sutherland Regional Court after being convicted of housebreaking and theft.
In a statement on Tuesday, provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Dimakatso Mooi said that Jan Malouw was found in possession of a suspected stolen laptop, designer sunglasses and toiletries in December 2019.
After his arrest, further investigations confirmed that the items were stolen during a housebreaking incident at a Middelfontein farm near Sutherland.
According to evidence gathered during the probe, Malouw had gained entry to the premises by breaking open the burglar bars on the windows.
“During the trial it was discovered that the suspect had nine previous convictions of housebreaking and theft and that he was still on parole at the time,” Mooi said.
The Northern Cape provincial police management applauded the investigating officer in the case for his “hard work and dedication” in ensuring that Malouw would be put behind bars.
In an unrelated incident in the Northern Cape, police attached to the Kathu Crime Prevention unit accompanied security officials and a sniffer dog from Rhino Security Dog in responding to a reported break-in on Monday night at the East Water Reservoir in Kathu.
A team searched the veld within the vicinity of the reservoir and found four lithium batteries valued at R400,000.
No suspects were arrested and the batteries were handed in at the Kathu police station.
– African News Agency (ANA)
