Prank calls not a laughing matter
ROODEPOORT – Emergency services received more than 30 000 hoax calls in 2014.
Making a prank call to emergency services or the police can be detrimental and in the long run, cost someone’s life.
In 2014, emergency service ER24 reportedly received more than 30 000 calls that turned out to be pranks. Needless to say, while sending a hoax call can cost someone their lives and have dire consequences.
Shakira Cassim, the company’s centre manager, urged all callers and emergency services users to think before they call. “The risk is so high. Someone having a bit of fun can impact on another person’s life. There are instances, especially over peak periods, where our vehicles are everywhere attending to real emergencies. Attending to a hoax call means that we have a vehicle unavailable to attend to someone in need.”
Sending out a fake phone call to the emergency services or the police can even result in a criminal charge. The SAPS official website clearly warns people against these kind of jokes that can go horribly wrong.
