Intimate photos on social media ends in tragedy
The photos circulating on social media show a Correctional Services official kissing a prisoner.
In the two images the pair can be seen locked in an embrace.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) says they have since learned that the official from the Losperfontein Prison in Brits has committed suicide.
The regional DCS commissioner, Mandla Mkabela, has expressed his sadness at the official's passing: "On behalf of DCS, we want to convey our condolences to the family and colleagues of the deceased official. We have dispatched a team of senior managers and our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) specialists to provide necessary support."
Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo says it has not been confirmed that the suicide can be linked to the images which are circulating.
"We have learned with shock that there were images circulating on social media where a DCS official is seen in a very compromising position with an inmate.
"We conducted an investigation and have received a report that the official has since committed suicide," Nxumalo says.
He says the inmate has been moved to a different correctional facility to ensure the investigation is not compromised.
"There was a raid conducted and a cellphone was confiscated. Cellphones are described as contraband and are not allowed in a correctional facility."