The police force has cautioned the general public against misusing the internet by spreading false and seditious information, saying that “the culprits will be apprehended in due time even if takes years’’.
Speaking on the increasing cases of misuse of the internet, Police Spokesperson, Senior Superintendent of Police Advera Senso, said the force is not dormant but was busy looking into such cases, warning guilty parties not to be too comfortable.
“Whoever is involved in these criminal acts should not think that they are safe; we will arrest them even if they committed the offences years back. Criminal cases dot not expire,” she stressed.
She said that there are people who misuse the internet, including mobile phones and the social media, by spreading false information and publicizing false death reports, thinking that they can never be caught.
I assure you that the long arm of the law will soon catch up with them,’’ she told reporters. The police spokesperson said that the police force, through its cyber crime section, is working on any case arising -- even if there is no complainant.
Anyone who will be caught committing cyber crime will immediately be dealt with. “We look into all cases even if there is no one who has complained about the false reports. On learning that information being circulated is false, we apprehend the guilty and take them to court.
So far we have arrested several culprits and the exercise is going on,” she said. She said that there are people who play around with the internet, believing that they are safe. ‘’But the truth of the matter is that they are not.
Some of the information they circulate is pure incitement. We are working round the clock to make sure we bring the culprits to justice,’’ Ms Senso further cautioned.
On his part, the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) Communication Manager, Mr Innocent Mungy, said that the authority is working closely with the police in investigating the cases -- and once the culprits are detected, they forward the matter to the police for further action.
“We do not have the authority to investigate; but we assist the police, who are charged with the mandate to do so. So when they come to us for assistance, we comply. A good example is the case of a woman in Mwanza who spread rumours that several people had died during the just-ended elections,” he said.
Mr Mungy added that the cyber crime section of the police force conduct their investigations through the internet the same way they conduct it in other areas. “Once they identify the culprits, they take them to court,’’ he said, urging the general public to desist from spreading false information.
TCRA had warned the general public against spreading false information and using the internet to tarnish the image of others, saying that the law will not spare them.
Culled from Daily News
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