Some 2 299 criminal cases against defence force members were brought to trial in court before senior military judges last year, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Tuesday.
In written reply to a question by Adriaan Blaas (NNP) in the National Assembly, he said commanding officers conducted 2 829 disciplinary hearings during the same year.
The criminal trials included 144 cases of theft, 112 of fraud, 160 of assault, and 33 of intimidation. The disciplinary cases dealt with, among other things, absence without leave, using threatening, insubordinate or insulting language towards a superior officer, and disobeying lawful commands or orders.
Replying to another question by Blaas, Lekota said 947 incidents
of theft of state property were reported last year. The value of the stolen property was estimated at R8,364-million. During the same year, 406 incidents of theft of private property, worth an estimated R1,039-million, were reported, Lekota said. – Sapa