'Dumbest criminal' caught in SA

news.bbc.co.uk ^ | 01/08/2008 | news.bbc.co.uk

[WesternCulture]

Police in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, claim to have to caught the "dumbest criminal" this year. The man walked into a station to report that he had been held up at gunpoint by a gang who had stolen his mobile phone.

But when the detective phoned the number of the phone reportedly stolen, it rang in the complainant's pocket.

"The shock left him speechless for a few minutes," said police spokesman Eugene Opperman, adding that the man, 25, was then arrested for perjury.

The police issued a statement entitled "Dumbest criminal?" with details of the weekend incident, South Africa's Star newspaper reports.

"At the end of the interview, he rang the complainant's cell phone number, and it rang in the man's pocket," Mr Opperman said, according the Beeld paper.

"He told the detective that he'd given him the wrong number," he said.

"But couldn't explain why the phone in his pocket had the corresponding serial number, or why it was same make and fitted the description he had given of the 'stolen phone'."

South Africa's reputation has long been tarnished by the high levels of crime, often accompanied by extreme violence involving guns.

[NRA1995]

Woo-hoo, woo-hoo-hoo....woo-hoo, woo-hoo-hoo....

[rockabyebaby]

Here’s your sign........

[C210N]

Did the complainant vow to not to leave a stone unturned and to search the ends of the earth until he finds the real cell phone thief?

[F15Eagle]

He should have answered it and said “Hello? If you’re calling about the stolen phone, please leave a message!!”

;)

or he could have sung:

“I must be out,
or I’d pick up the phone.
Where could I be?
Believe it or not, I’m not home”

[DelphiUser]

Dumbest Criminal? Oh come on we can do better than that!

DumbCrooks.com

DumbCriminals.Com

My fave:

Seattle: When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find an ill man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.

[ArrogantBustard]

A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake.

Sorry.

I don't believe this.

I'm fairly familiar with RV sewerage systems ... the only external access I've ever seen is the dump valve.

[Titan Magroyne]

It ain’t got that ping
If it got that cellphone ring

[Larry Lucido]

LOL!

[shbox]

He could have said

“If you want to complain about the stolen phone, press 1.
To talk to the police press 2....

......why don’t you just tell me what you want”

[F15Eagle]

Press 1 for Brown-Eyed Girl

Press 2 for Rochelle, Rochelle

LOL

~~~~

Remember the one where Jerry says to the cop, “boy, I hate the idea of some other guy returning my messages!” after his car was stolen?

[DelphiUser]

I don't believe this.

It has to be true I read it on the Internet...

Thinking about the "Surprise" makes me smile anyway.

[Slings and Arrows]

---

[Daffynition]

I'll bet it was one of those fancy new camera phones.