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WhatsApp profile picture betrays thieving conductor

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A 16-YEAR-OLD kombi conductor was yesterday convicted of stealing a cellphone after the gadget’s owner reported him to police after identifying his image through a WhatsApp profile picture.

A 16-YEAR-OLD kombi conductor was yesterday convicted of stealing a cellphone after the gadget’s owner reported him to police after identifying his image through a WhatsApp profile picture.

by NQOBILE NKIWANE The victim, Veronica Chavhunduka, is said to have lost her Samsung phone after the teenager fished it out of her pocket when she boarded his bus on September 20 this month.

The suspect, whose identity has been withheld because he is a minor, obliviously went on to use his photo on the stolen gadget after changing the sim card, thereby giving away his identity.

The teenager pleaded guilty to the charge when he appeared before Mbare magistrate Kudzai Zihove and was remanded in custody to next Monday for sentence.

In her ruling, the magistrate said she would proceed to sentence the teenager after getting proof of his actual age.

“You need to be examined by a dental practitioner who will ascertain your age and then you come back for sentence,” Zihove said.

The proven facts against the suspect were that on the day in question, Chavhunduka boarded a commuter omnibus on which the teenager was the conductor.

The court heard he went on to steal a Samsung S3 phone valued at $250 from her pocket and proceeded to switch it off before replacing the sim card with his own.

The court heard the teenager failed to cover his tracks when he did not change Chavhunduka’s number from the WhatsApp account which led to her managing to track down her phone.

The court heard when Chavhunduka checked her WhatsApp account from another phone, she saw that the profile picture appearing on her stolen phone was the teenage conductor’s.

Days later, Chavhunduka boarded the same commuter omnibus and identified the culprit and made a police report, leading to his arrest.

In his mitigation the teenager said: “I am staying with a Good Samaritan in Waterfalls who is offering me free accommodation since I do not have any relatives in Harare. I have been staying there for three days now.”

Yvonne Guvira appeared for the State.