Pascalinah Kabi
An 18-year-old Roma woman is in trouble for lying to the police about a kidnap that never happened.
Pina Lesaoana briefly appeared before the Maseru Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday and was remanded in custody.
According to deputy police spokesperson Lerato Motseki, the teenager lied that she had been kidnapped by some men who told her they would murder her for her heart.
“It is alleged that Pina Lesaoana, aged 18, of Mangopeng in Roma, told a certain man that she had been kidnapped by unknown men driving a BMW. She went on to claim that the men gave her drugs while driving away with her, telling her the only thing they needed from her was her heart,” Senior Inspector Motseki said.
Touched by the story, Senior Inspector Motseki said the man reported the matter to the police, who placed Lesaoana under witness protection while investigating the matter.
But Lesaoana ran away from the police safe house after intensive interrogation.
“After a couple of interviews by the police, she ran away from the protected location and the police nabbed her after investigating her whereabouts.
“After being caught, she confessed that she had lied about the whole kidnap thing because of poverty. She said she was an orphan living in poverty and was hoping spinning the story would get her some help from well-wishers like this man.
“She claimed that she believed she could easily get employed by lying about the kidnap and that she ran away from police protection after realising that she couldn’t keep up with the lies anymore,” Senior Inspector Motseki said.
“She was then arrested for contravening the Penal Code Section 71 and appeared in court on 1 June. She was remanded in custody and the date for her next court appearance has not been set as yet.”
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