Plan to blackmail dentist ends in arrest
A cop and his teenage niece who allegedly tried to blackmail a Grabouw dentist were nabbed during a sting operation.
|||Cape Town - A policeman and his teenage niece, who allegedly blackmailed a dentist, are due to appear in court on Tuesday.
The 15-year-old girl’s mother is also a police officer.
The teen and her 38-year-old uncle were nabbed in Grabouw last week during a sting operation set up by the Hawks.
It is alleged off-duty constable Brendell Davids approached Dr R Spies, to investigate false claims submitted to his medical aid by the dentist. Davids then demanded R50 000, police say.
The dentist however told police who led Davids into a trap on Thursday.
Davids’s 15-year-old niece, who allegedly took the money and put it in her bag, was also arrested but later released into the care of her parents.
According to Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha, Davids got such a fright when his colleagues pounced that he was rushed to hospital after suffering “apparent heart attack like symptoms”.
He spent the night under police guard but was taken to police cells the next day.
On Monday Davids made a brief appearance in the Grabouw Magistrate’s Court where he faces charges of extortion and corruption.
A tired-looking Davids, with dark rings around his eyes, smiled and waved at his relatives seated in court.
The officer’s lawyer informed the court that his client was a cardiac patient who had suffered four heart attacks in the past.
Although the State asked that bail be set at R25 000, the lawyer indicated that he could only pay R10 000.
Shortly before setting the bail amount, Magistrate R Roux commented on the seriousness of the charges.
“It is a sad day when a police member from the area appears before court,” she said.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, the 15-year-old girl who collected the money from the dentist will appear in Grabouw Magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
“SAPS released her in the care of her mother,” adds Ntabazalila.
According to police sources, the girl’s mom, Davids’s sister, is a cop stationed at Grabouw SAPS.
Davids was released on bail of R15 000 and his case was postponed to 30 January for further investigation and instructions from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Daily Voice