A 33-year-old female suspect identified as Kalumbu Sakayaya has committed suicide in police cells in Chingola after she was detained for allegedly stealing a mattress.

Copperbelt Police commissioner Charity Katanga said Ms Sakayaya, a resident of Soweto township committed suicide on Friday last week using a chitenge material.

Ms Katanga said Police on Friday arrested and detained Ms Sakayaya for allegedly stealing a mattress, belonging to Moses Sinyali of Soweto area in Chingola.

“The incident happened on February 22, 2019 between 07:00 hours and 13:05 hours, in which the suspect was alone in police cells detained for the theft of a mattress, a property of Moses Sinyali, 33, of house no. 55, Butungwa Rd Soweto compound, Chingola,” Ms Katanga said.

She said the body of Ms Sakayaya was deposited in Nchanga North General Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem to determine the cause of death.