The Daily Sun was singled out for publishing “images of police members…without captions‚ purporting to portray SAPS members as being active participants in looting and other related forms of criminality during the recent violent riots in Tshwane”.

Spokesperson Brigadier Mashadi Selepe said on Thursday: “The SAPS strongly condemns this type of reporting and the distribution of these images as they were selectively published to tarnish the image of the SAPS and is totally misleading and untrue.”

Of the pictures published on the paper’s “Facebook page…and other social media platforms”‚ Selepe said: “The members were in no way involved in any act of criminality and were retrieving stolen goods from looters utilising minimum force.”

“Publishing the pictures without any captions subject to public opinion and unsubstantiated assumptions and portrays a negative image of the SAPS distracting the public of our main duty which is to serve and to protect the people of South Africa‚” Selepe added.