The theft charge against a Worcester man accused of stealing money from the Grahamstown Spur, after allegedly falling asleep in the restaurant, were withdrawn at the Grahamstown Magistrate’s Court last week.
The theft charge against a Worcester man accused of stealing money from the Grahamstown Spur, after allegedly falling asleep in the restaurant, were withdrawn at the Grahamstown Magistrate’s Court last week.
When the incident happened there was confusion as to how the man gained entry into the restaurant.
Police spokesperson captain Mali Govender reported that the 39-year-old man was arrested and detained after he was discovered sleeping there in the early hours of 11 January.
But Spur manager Wessel Benson believes the man entered the restaurant through the ceiling with the intention of stealing from the restaurant.
Benson claimed security cameras captured the man climbing through the roof panels. "We have footage of him stealing from the store," he told Grocott's Mail shortly after the incident.
When asked where he thought the erroneous reports originated, Benson said it was the story the suspect had told people in an attempt to exonerate himself.
According to Govender he had set the alarm off when he woke up in the restaurant after falling asleep there.
When security officers had responded to the triggered alarm they found nothing amiss and continued with their routine tasks, she said.
A neighbouring businessman allegedly witnessed the suspect helping himself to some cash from the register before trying to leave the building.
This was when the man was apprehended and detained, Govender said in a statement.
Benson refused to comment about the withdrawal of the charges yesterday.
