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Africa News of Monday, 16 October 2023

Source: bbc.com

SA police re-arrest 'fake doctor' on the run

File photo File photo

South African police say they have re-arrested an escaped suspect, Kingsley Leeto Chele, who is accused of impersonating a doctor.

As we reported earlier, the police had said they had launched a manhunt for the suspect who escaped from custody last week. They described him as a "Facebook con artist” who targeted women.

They now say he was re-arrested in the early hours of Monday in Vosloorus, near Johannesburg, following a tip-off from a media house.

“[The] police in Gauteng appreciates the role played by the media in particular and the community in general in the fight against crime,” a police statement said.

The suspect, whose country of birth the police have not yet confirmed, is due to appear before a court in Pretoria on Tuesday, as had been scheduled before his escape.

A charge of escaping custody has been added to the charges that he was already facing.

He had been accused of two cases of fraud - he is alleged to have told health professionals on Facebook that he was seeking investors, before swindling them.

Chele has not yet commented on the accusations.