Samuel Dennis Hlungwane (41) from Phalaborwa will spend the next 39 years behind bars for 26 counts of theft from motor vehicles. He was sentenced in the Phalaborwa regional court on Tuesday. The incidents relating to the case took place in Phalaborwa and the surrounding areas between July 2003 and September 2004.

The court heard that Hlungwane broke into the parked motor vehicles during the period under review and stole various goods including car stereos, car speakers, cellphones and cash. It took the police about two years to bring him to book.

The police received a tip-off from concerned residents in September 2004. The police followed up the information and the end result of their thorough investigation was the arrest of Hlungwane. The case was postponed several times before it was finally laid to rest on Tuesday.

Before passing sentence, the court described Hlungwane as a dangerous element to the community. The court also made it clear that Hlungwane will serve half of the sentence before his application for parole can be considered.

It was also described in court that Hlungwane is a jailbird. According to the records that were read in court, Hlungwane had served a seven-year sentence for similar offences before his arrest in 2004. He was released on parole. In a statement that was issued early this week, the police commended the justice system for what they described as “a job well done”.

In the statement, the police stated that the sentence will serve as a good lesson to the criminals to be.