CAPE TOWN – A Philippi East man arrested for staging his own kidnapping is due to make his first appearance in the Athlone Magistrates Court on Friday.
Last week, a man reported to police that his brother had been kidnapped after receiving an anonymous message.
The man claimed he left his Philippi East home after 5am to go to work, leaving behind his brother who was supposed to deposit their rent money later that day.
He alleged that when he switched on his phone that evening, a message indicated his brother had been kidnapped, and the kidnappers, who claimed to be in Khayelitsha, were demanding a ransom of between R4,000 and R5,000.
The ransom demand was later increased to R15,000, which the family paid via e-wallet earlier in the week.
The police’s Frederick van Wyk explained the man believed to have been kidnapped returned home the very next day.
“On the 10th of January, the captive came back home and admitted that he and his friend staged the kidnapping, as they wanted to extort money from his family. He further stated he used the rent money for gambling.”