An alleged Cape Town burglar, using a stolen South African Police Service uniform, apparently worked in a police station for seven months, the Cape Argus reported on Tuesday.
It said Ricardo Voight (24) from Ocean View, appeared in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Voight faces charges of impersonating a police officer, theft of a motor vehicle and other charges relating to a spate of burglaries in the Ocean View area.
He was apparently a member of a housebreaking syndicate.
According to the charge sheet, Voight arrived at the Ocean View police station in November last year, dressed in a full police uniform allegedly stolen a few days before.
Using the name of the officer whose uniform he was wearing, he is alleged to have told senior staff he had been transferred from the Cape Town Central police station.
Voight was never asked for a route form and accompanying documents — standard procedure in the event of a transfer. He was then allowed to start his duties in the charge office.
Apparently, he never received a salary as a police officer.
Voight allegedly broke into a house in Ocean View in June with other members of his syndicate. The next day, while on police duty, he visited the scene of the crime. A resident apparently recongnised him, and he was arrested.
Voight has been held in custody since his arrest, and will appear in court again in September. – Sapa