The police warned the public on Tuesday not to heed a hoax e-mail about the closing of the child-protection unit.
”This e-mail that has been doing the rounds is full of malicious intent and is completely false,” said police spokesperson Captain Percy Morokane.
Morokane said the unit, known since 1995 as the family violence, child-protection and sexual offences unit, is not going to be closed as long as the offences it deals with are present in the country.
The e-mail states in one sentence that police intend to close the unit and offers no explanation of this or where the information originates. It goes on to talk about the emotive subject of infant rapes and urges the reader to ”do something”.
Recipients are told to add their names to the bottom of the e-mail and pass it on to others and then e-mail the petition to police each time the list increases by 120 names.
The police e-mail address supplied is not a valid one.
”Anyone who receives this e-mail is urged to delete it and not to forward it on to others,” Morokane said.
He said the unit has dedicated members who are committed to their work and known the world over for their outstanding efforts.
”We advise people not to fall [for] this scam.
”It is a complete hoax and if the originators of the e-mail are traced, they are liable to be prosecuted as their efforts are jeopardising police work by creating unnecessary panic.”
Morokane said police time is being diverted from important work such as that done by the unit by having to answer queries about the non-existent closure. — Sapa