Mickeys

Nelspruit – A senior policeman and member of a national police headquarters special task team, finds himself in hot water after allegedly being involved in the assault of a Lowveld journalist on Friday.

Riot Hlatswayo, bureau chief of the Sowetan in Mpumalanga, laid an assault charge on Saturday against, amongst others, Superintendent Fanie Molapo of Pretoria.

This happened after several policemen apparently pinned Hlatswayo down on Molapo’s orders and seized his camera.

“I was busy taking photos near Bushbuckridge where the police had arrested a traffic official, when Molapo gave the order for them to confiscate my camera,” said Hlatswayo. “When I refused, the policemen threw me to the ground, pinned me down and took my camera away by force.”

Molapo himself then allegedly erased the photos from the camera’s memory card.

Hlatswayo told Beeld he believes this was done out of revenge, since he (Hlatswayo) had earlier reported about Molapo’s son who  had been arrested for alleged theft.

According to Hlatswayo, Molapo said to him at the scene: “It’s time for payback.”

Molapo apparently also argued with a journalist from a community newspaper in Nelspruit.

Apparently he referred to her as a bitch. She’s laid a charge of crimen injuria against Molapo.

Sibongile Nkosi, communications chief of the Mpumalanga police, on Sunday confirmed that charges have been laid against Molapo.

“However, we don’t know what Molapo was doing in our province at the time of the alleged incident.”

Thulani Ntobela, provincial police commissioner, on Sunday ordered that he be given an urgent report about the incident.

Molapo could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

taken from News24

An 18-year-old girl was robbed by three men with a toy gun while on her way to school in Soweto on Friday morning, police said.

Inspector Kay Makhubela said the girl was walking to school in Zola Extension 3, when three men held her up using the toy gun.

“They demanded her belongings and she handed over her jewellery, cellphone, watch and money,” said Makhubela.

The girl ran home after the robbers let her go and told her family.

“The family chased them with a car and caught one of the robbers in the street.”

They found the weapon on him, which turned out to be a toy gun.

Makhubela said during questioning the man told the police where his accomplices were, and they were arrested shortly after at a shack in Zondi in Soweto.

“The police found the stolen goods in their possession,” said Makhubela. The suspects had no other weapons on them.

The men, between the ages of 23 and 26, will appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of armed robbery and the possession of stolen property.

taken from News24

The City of Cape Town has issued a shark warning for several popular beaches on the False Bay coast.

Great White

It said on Friday there had been “high shark activity” on that stretch of coast, especially at Fish Hoek, St James and Muizenberg beaches.

This was probably the result of the presence in the bay of a number of seals and schools of yellowtail.

If shark warnings were sounded, bathers should leave the water immediately and not return to it until the shark spotters had indicated it was safe to do so.

People should also swim in groups, and make sure other people could see them.

taken from News24

Hong Kong – An acid attacker who injured 30 people in Hong Kong’s Temple Street night market at the weekend was still at large on Monday after police reportedly picked up the wrong man.

A suspect in his 30s was arrested early on Sunday on a rooftop near the scene of Saturday night’s attack in which victims were splashed with acid from plastic bottles thrown onto the crowded market.

Victims of the attack – the latest in a series of unsolved acid attacks in Hong Kong over the past 13 months – included nine tourists and a seven-year-old child. No one was seriously hurt.

After more than 24 hours of questioning, however, the suspect turned out to be an undocumented migrant working at the market who was hiding from police, Monday’s Hong Kong Standard reported.

Police said they believe one person may have been responsible for the Temple Street attack and five similar incidents since December 2008, according to the newspaper.

An award of $38 000 has been offered by police for information leading to the arrest of the culprit.

More than 100 people have been injured in the acid attacks in which bottles of sulphuric acid were thrown from high buildings onto busy shopping or pedestrian areas in the city of 7 million.

taken from News24

British security services are hunting for possible accomplices of the alleged Christmas Day airline bomber and his possible links to other extremists in the UK.

The Northwest Airlines Flight 253

The Home Secretary has said he does not believe former British student Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab acted alone in the plot to destroy a transatlantic passenger jet.

Police and security services are examining whether the Nigerian was radicalised while studying at University College London (UCL) between 2005 and 2008, Alan Johnson said.

They are also trying to establish whether there was “any association with whoever may have been behind this plot”, according to Mr Johnson.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, he said: “We don’t know yet whether it was a single-handed plot or (there were) other people behind it.

“I suspect it’s the latter rather than the former.”

He confirmed that Mutallab was refused a new visa last May and placed on a UK watch-list after applying for a bogus course.

“If you are on our watch-list then you do not come into this country,” Mr Johnson said.

“You can come through this country if you are in transit to another country but you cannot come into this country.”

Earlier, Mutallab’s family revealed they had lost contact with him while he was studying abroad and reported the matter to security agencies nearly two months ago.

The 23-year-old’s parents described his disappearance as “completely out of character” and a “very recent development”.

“His father, having become concerned about his disappearance and stoppage of communication while schooling abroad, reported the matter to Nigerian security agencies about two months ago and to some foreign security agencies about a month and a half ago,” the family said in a statement.

Family reported Mutallab missing

Meanwhile, Barack Obama has ordered an urgent review of airport screening.

Investigators are trying to find out how the Nigerian evaded security checks to board the Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight in Amsterdam.

A spokesperson for the Obama administration said the probe would target the Department of Homeland Security, specifically the Transportation Security Administration.

Mr Obama has also demanded a report into how watch-lists on terror suspects are used following reports that Mutallab’s name was included on one before the Christmas Day incident.

He was apparently listed on the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment list, which contains more than a million names, many of them only remotely linked to terror suspects.

Mutallab was charged in hospital on Saturday night with attempting to bring down the aircraft during its final approach to Detroit airport.

The student, who read mechanical engineering at UCL, was also charged with placing a destructive device on Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

He was released from hospital on Sunday into the custody of US marshals. His current location remains undisclosed.

taken from SkyNews

Three family members were killed and another seriously wounded when gunfire erupted in an upmarket apartment in New York.

The shootings took place in Manhattan's Upper West Side

A father, his son and his grandson were found shot dead on the third floor of an apartment block in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a few blocks from Central Park.

Police said two of the victims were found dead in a bedroom and one was in the bathroom.

A fourth man, possibly the gunman, was found dead in the courtyard of the building

Police are investigating whether he fell off a fire escape while trying to flee the scene.

The sole survivor, a 49-year-old female member of the family, is said to be in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a head wound.

None of the victims’ identities has been revealed.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the confrontation but detectives suspect the shootings were drug-related.

Law enforcement officials told NBCNewYork.com that a woman had called 911 shortly before 2pm to say she thought her father and brother were dead in the apartment.

Police cordoned off the entrance to the building and part of the block while dozens of onlookers crowded the streets.

While officers searched the crime scene they recovered a semi-automatic handgun.

Darryl Gamble, who owns a women’s clothes shop on the ground floor of the building, said he heard no commotion coming from the apartments.

“I think that most of the tenants have been there for years,” Mr Gamble told the New York Post.

He said he had no problems with his neighbours, outside of “the usual, New York noise, a few leaks”.

taken from SkyNews

Johannesburg – The police have warned the public to be alert and take measures not to become victims of crime during the festive season.

Superintendent Eugene Opperman said fraudsters, robbers, smooth-talkers, burglars and thieves would be busy over the festive season.

“Criminals know that many people draw a lot of money to pay for their Christmas vacation and to do rather expensive purchases over this period,” he said.

“They know that money is kept in vehicles, shops and that homes will contain expensive gifts. And above all, they know that many people will be leaving their homes to enjoy themselves at other places around our country.”

The police advised people to take extra caution when drawing money at banks and automated teller machines.

“It is essential that these people be alert of their surroundings at all times. Criminals usually pounce when the victims least expect it,” said Opperman.

He said people must protect their PIN numbers and not allow strangers to draw money on their behalf.

“Never draw more money than what you really need. Chances are that criminals are watching your every move,” he said.

The common trend was to either rob or pickpocket people between the bank, car or the shop.

“People are often also followed home where the robbers then pounce on them.”

Opperman warned that people should check the roadworthiness of their vehicles before travelling and make sure there was enough fuel to prevent breakdowns in remote areas.

He said vehicles should always be locked, that no valuables be openly displayed inside, and that firearms should not be left unattended.

“Many motorists make life easier for criminals if they leave the registration papers in their car.”

Opperman said fraudsters and smooth-talkers would certainly be out preying on shoppers during the festive period.

He said people going on holiday should always ask family and friends to visit their premises often and even to sometimes cut the grass and make sure that the post boxes were cleaned out every day.

“The house should always have that look of somebody being there at all times,” he said.

“Time-switches should be used to switch on lights and/or radios in the house at different times of the day and night.”

taken from News24

A US woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying to cut a baby from a homeless woman’s womb.

Deramous had told her boyfriend and family she was pregnant

Veronica Deramous held her 29-year-old victim hostage for five days at her apartment in Washington after befriending her at a nearby homeless hostel.

She tied her up and sliced open her stomach to try to remove the child, police said.

Deramous allegedly gagged her victim, turned up the volume on her TV, and told her: “You’re strong, you can handle what I’m going to do to you.”

Her victim then managed to escape after Deramous, 40, fell asleep.

A neighbour called police after spotting the woman covered in blood in a car park.

Doctors delivered her baby girl by emergency Caesarean section.

The victim is expected to make a full recovery and her child has been named Miracle Sky.

A spokeswoman for Prince George’s County police said: “She bound the victim’s hands and proceeded to try to cut the victim’s abdomen to try to get the baby out.”

She said she carried out the attack using a box cutter and some razor blades.

Deramous had told her boyfriend and family she was pregnant, and lured her victim to her flat by promising to give her baby clothes.

She has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and false imprisonment.

taken from SkyNews

Lesbians in South Africa are being dragged off the street and raped to “correct” them, it has been claimed.

Sky News has found evidence of widespread abuse against the lesbian community – resulting in a new trend of so-called “corrective rape”.

In the the township of Khayelitsha, on the outskirts of Cape Town, Sky spoke to a group of women who said they live in fear of their lives.

All of them said they know someone who has been violently dragged off the streets and raped because they had come out as a lesbian.

Funeka Solidaat said she had been attacked on two occasions – on the second she was raped.

She said the men covered their faces with balaclavas and that she had been repeatedly threatened with rape in the township.

Funeka believed it was only a matter of time before it happened – and then it did.

But what shocked her even more, she said, was the attitude of the police. She was made to feel like “a laughing stock” when she reported the crime.

The police did not even bother to finish taking a statement from her, she maintained.

Funeka was part of a group of women Sky met at a safe house in Khayelitsha township. As they talked, it became clear the so-called motive for the attack was to “correct” them.

Desire Dudu told Sky she had come out as a lesbian but, in her view, in South African society you risk your life if you make your sexuality clear.

In Soweto, South Africa’s biggest township, Sky went to gauge the views of men towards lesbians in society.

A man's world: A group of women are shouted at as they walk through Soweto

It is a huge sprawling township in Johannesburg.

Although there is a progressive post-apartheid black middle class in South Africa, Sky was told the views of the men who spoke up were reflective of the masses.

One man roared with laughter as he said lesbians should be “whipped”. “There is no mention of lesbians in the bible,” he said.

They said they approved of lesbians being raped to “correct” them and to “teach them a lesson”.

They said “women should behave like women” and this was a way of “teaching” them that.

Campaigners say although South Africa has a wide-ranging constitution, attitudes need to change within the police and the government if lesbians are ever going to be able to live safely and openly within the townships.

The townships have always been the voice of black South Africans.

But the lesbian community is a section of society which considers itself ostracised and abused in a country which struggled hard to define itself as a land of equality.

taken from SkyNews

Merseyside Police have confirmed the dog that mauled to death Liverpool schoolboy John-Paul Massey was an illegal breed.

Officers said the animal responsible for killing the four-year-old outside his grandmother’s house was a pit bull terrier-type animal outlawed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Police in Liverpool have already admitted they failed to follow up a complaint about animal breeding at the house where the boy was attacked in the Wavertree area of the city.

His grandmother, Helen Foulkes, was hurt as she tried to stop the dog, called Uno, savaging the child.

The 63-year-old, who suffered bites to her legs and body, was taken to hospital but later discharged.

Dog handlers and armed response officers arrived at the house and shot the dog, which was described as being highly agitated.

The scene of the attack

Paramedics tried to save John-Paul’s life but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

An examination of the dead dog confirmed it was an illegal pit bull breed.

Merseyside Police admitted today they were told months ago that a banned pit bull-type dog had been seen at the house.

A complaint was made by a city housing officer last February about dog breeding at the home.

But a police call centre operator told the caller it was “not a police matter”.

Deputy Chief Constable Patricia Gallan, of Merseyside Police, offered her condolences to John-Paul’s family and said a full investigation was under way into the incident.

“On behalf of Merseyside Police, I am deeply concerned and very disappointed that our policy was not followed in February when we received a call alerting us to the possible breeding of pit bull terriers at the house where the attack took place,” she said.

“This is clearly unacceptable and we are sorry that Merseyside Police did not take the appropriate course of action at that time.

“Given the seriousness of this situation, and our failure to follow our own procedure, we have referred this case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who will be carrying out an independent investigation.”

taken from SkyNews

Cape Town – About 1 000 foreign nationals have fled informal settlements at De Doorns in the Western Cape following a flare-up of xenophobia, police said on Tuesday.

De Doorns station commissioner Supt Desmond van der Westhuizen said however he had had no reports of physical violence against foreigners. He said tensions had been building since last week.

On Tuesday morning, local residents had prevented foreigners from climbing onto the trucks of farmers coming into the town to collect seasonal workers for the day.

The locals claimed the foreigners – mostly Zimbabweans, as well as some Lesotho nationals – were accepting lower wages than locals and robbing them of jobs.

The locals had also demolished a number of shacks rented by the foreigners before police intervened, at one point firing rubber bullets.

The shacks had already been vacated, Van der Westhuizen said.

He said 68 foreigners had over the weekend slept at a municipal storeroom next to the police station following a shebeen fight on Friday night in which Zimbabweans were involved, and rumours that action was to be taken against foreigners.

By Tuesday afternoon about 1 000 people had gathered at the hall with their meagre possessions.

Officials and councillors from the Breede River municipality, as well as the Western Cape MECs for social development and safety, Ivan Meyer and Lennit Max, were on the scene to assess the situation.

The situation was quiet and police were monitoring the informal settlement.

Van Der Westhuizen said he was however worried about what was going to happen under cover of night.

He said most Zimbabweans stayed in a settlement named Stofland, and others in Ekuphumleni and Hasie Square, while the Lesotho nationals stayed in a settlement named Maseru.

He said the outbreak of xenophobia was not a one-off incident, but an annual occurrence.

“It’s a thing with a history,” he said. “We must all come on board to solve this problem.”

taken from News24

South Africa’s chief of police has told Sky News that his officers should kill criminals if they are under attack.

Armed South Africa police patrol streets of Johannesburg

The country has one of the worst crime rates in the world and Bheki Cele says the time has come to do something about it.

“There’s no way that you can be soft and diplomatic on criminals,” he said. “We are taking them on at their own game.”

Mr Cele is South Africa’s new police commissioner and he has declared war on the country’s criminals ahead of next year’s World Cup, when thousands of football fans will flood into the country.

He is telling his officers they should use the law to protect themselves and he wants it beefed up so they do not hesitate to pull the trigger for fear of repercussions later on.

He said: “In law if the officer is under threat, if his or her life is threatened or the life of any citizen is threatened you must use deadly force. That’s the law. (continue reading…)

An Mpumalanga couple have been found murdered in their house at the disused Hendriksdal Railway Station near Sabie.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Superintendent Abie Khoabane said police were on the hunt for two suspects in connection with the murder of the couple.

“Police have launched a manhunt for two suspects who are believed to have attacked and shot the couple. We are also investigating a case of business robbery and double murder,” said Khoabane.

He said the couple were shot dead with a rifle in their house right next to their business.

“We are still trying to establish if anything was stolen and we hope to make arrests soon,” he said.

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said his domestic worker and another neighbour had heard about five shots just before 07:00. When they went to investigate, they found the couple dead, still in their pyjamas.

“The robbers ran out the back door. The house had been ransacked,” the neighbour said.

Members of the White River police’s dog unit later arrived at the scene, but it started raining and the dogs lost the robbers’ scent. The Middelburg Crime Investigation Unit and members of the Sabie police were also on the scene.

taken from News24

Police are continuing to quiz a man over an attack on singer Leona Lewis during a book launch in London.

All smiles: Leona Lewis poses with her book...minutes later she was attacked

The 24-year-old was signing copies of her autobiography at Waterstone’s in Piccadilly when a man in the queue suddenly lashed out.

She was bruised at the side of her head and was left “shaken”, her spokesman said.

Police arrested a 29-year-old man at the scene and he remains in custody.

Lewis was taken to see a doctor as a precaution after being struck, but needed no further treatment.

Witnesses said she had been happily signing for around 90 minutes when a man whose book she autographed suddenly punched her in the side of the head.

Her spokesman, who was at the signing, did not hear the man say anything to Lewis during the “unprovoked” incident and security officers swooped in.

He was seen laughing immediately afterwards.

The spokesman said: “(Leona) is absolutely gutted she did not get the signings finished.”

He added that to hit a woman was “beyond cowardly”. (continue reading…)