MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO THEFT DURING JULY LOOTING
Today in the Durban Regional Court, Mbuso Moloi (32) pleaded guilty to theft and contravention of the National Road Traffic Regulation. His plea relates to the theft of certain household items from a Woolworths store in the Davenport area during the acts of public violence and looting that took place in various parts of KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021. He contravened the road traffic regulation by not having the requisite license plates for the vehicle he was driving at the time of commission of the offence.
In his plea Moloi said that on the day, he and his friend were driving around with the intention of purchasing some items. When they drove into Davenport, he noticed that people were emerging from a Woolworths store. At the spur of the moment, he stopped his vehicle and went into that store. He picked up a plastic shopping basket and filled it with a few items. He then left the store without paying and placed the basket in his vehicle before driving off. His explanation for the car license plates was that he had failed to replace the ‘dealer plates’ with the relevant / correct license plates allocated to the vehicle.
The car, a Mercedes Benz C300 coupe has since been forfeited by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the NPA in KwaZulu-Natal. Since the vehicle was under a purchase agreement from a bank, it was handed over to the bank.
The matter was remanded to 31 May 2023 for pre-sentencing reports. The court extended his bail in the interim.
