There is no truth to social media claims that an elderly woman from Jukulyn in Pretoria was arrested after buying groceries using fake bank notes at a Shoprite store, Gauteng police say.
Spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo hit out at people sharing false information, saying this was wasting police resources.
An investigation was opened after the false post, which claimed the woman was the mother of a bride who was given false bank notes for lobola by her Nigerian son-in-law, went viral.
Masondo said officers from the Rietgat police station probed the validity of the allegations and can repudiate them.
“Police visited a local Shoprite store and spoke to the manager who denied claims that their store caught anyone paying with fake money. There is also no such case registered at Rietgat and the neighbouring police stations.
“It is disheartening that irresponsible social media users would deliberately post misinformation about an area while others share carelessly without verifying whether the story is accurate.
“The sharing of misinformation puts the South African Police Service at a disadvantage because all the allegations of crime have to be investigated. This leads to the police utilising state resources and losing valuable time that could have been better utilised to investigate real incidents. Eventually that also disadvantages victims of crime and hampers service delivery.”
TimesLIVE
Jukulyn mom spending dodgy 'lobola cash' is fake news, police say
Image: 123RF/ALLAN SWART
There is no truth to social media claims that an elderly woman from Jukulyn in Pretoria was arrested after buying groceries using fake bank notes at a Shoprite store, Gauteng police say.
Spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo hit out at people sharing false information, saying this was wasting police resources.
An investigation was opened after the false post, which claimed the woman was the mother of a bride who was given false bank notes for lobola by her Nigerian son-in-law, went viral.
Masondo said officers from the Rietgat police station probed the validity of the allegations and can repudiate them.
“Police visited a local Shoprite store and spoke to the manager who denied claims that their store caught anyone paying with fake money. There is also no such case registered at Rietgat and the neighbouring police stations.
“It is disheartening that irresponsible social media users would deliberately post misinformation about an area while others share carelessly without verifying whether the story is accurate.
“The sharing of misinformation puts the South African Police Service at a disadvantage because all the allegations of crime have to be investigated. This leads to the police utilising state resources and losing valuable time that could have been better utilised to investigate real incidents. Eventually that also disadvantages victims of crime and hampers service delivery.”
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