Cape Town - A 35-year-old man from the Northern Cape 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 Jan Malouw was in December 2019 found in possession of a suspected stolen laptop, designer sunglasses and toiletries.
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 into 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 go behind bars.
In an unrelated incident, police attached to the Kathu Crime Prevention Unit in the same province 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)