Cop steals cash from police safe

A Gwanda based police officer attempted to kill himself after allegedly swindling $4 000 in police funds that were being kept in a safe at Gwanda police station and converted the money into his own use.

Inspector Bornface Mudavanhu told the court that Constable Tariro Chipumuro (28) had made a futile suicide attempt by drowning 600ml of poison after committing the offence.

Chipumuro is now facing charges of theft of trust property.

The court heard that on 20 December Chipumuro who is employed in the Finance section at the Matabeleland South provincial police headquarters in Gwanda was handed safe keys so he could receive and keep cash coming from different stations in the province.

Chipumuro who was then the sole custodian of the safe keys was supposed to bank the cash in various police bank accounts.

On the 10th of February Chipumuro did not report for work prompting some police officers to go to his house were they were given the safe keys by his wife.

The safe was later opened and it was discovered that cash amounting to $3817 was missing.

An audit was carried out and it revealed that the money had been stolen leading to the arrest of Chipumuro.

Following his arrest he told Mudavanhu that he had attempted to kill himself after he lost the money at a local bank.