A Durban woman has been arrested after she allegedly faked her own kidnapping and demanded ransom from her businessman husband, police said on Tuesday.
The 47-year-old woman from Phoenix, north of Durban, was arrested on Tuesday after police conducted thorough investigations which proved her version of events was not entirely accurate.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said police received a complaint of a woman who was allegedly kidnapped on Clay Field Drive in Phoenix on Monday.
He said it was reported that the woman had left the business premises to use a restroom at her home a short distance away.
“A few moments later, her husband received a phone call from her, reporting that she was kidnapped and [in which she] pleaded with him to deposit an undisclosed amount of money for her release. A few moments later, the husband received another call from a man who threatened to hurt the woman if the money was not paid,” said Netshiunda.
Netshiunda said police investigations revealed that the woman had faked her kidnapping and was duly charged with perjury.
He said police are sending a strong warning to anyone contemplating faking their own kidnappings or wasting state resources by opening false cases that they will be met with the full force of the law.
“Kidnapping is not a matter to joke about and police have been working hard and stretching resources in a quest to prevent kidnappings, which had seen a slight increase of late.”
The woman is expected to appear before the Verulam magistrate’s court on Wednesday.
