The Bafokeng Regional Court has sentenced 41-year-old Hilda Matlhabadie Tlou and Authalia Busika, 47, to a R20,000 fine or five years imprisonment after they were found guilty of fraud.
Between 2012 and 2013, Tlou, a former clerk at the Bafokeng magistrate’s office and Busika, a former clerk at the Rustenburg platinum mine, reportedly connived and created a fraudulent power of attorney letter for maintenance from a beneficiary file of the complainant in the case.
North West spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula said the two accused people stole R5,500 which they shared.
“Following an investigation, the pair was arrested by members of the Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in 2015. Tlou was released on warning, while Busika was released on R5,000 bail,” said Mathebula.
The two accused made a series of court appearances until they were convicted and sentenced.
“They were sentenced to R20,000 fine or five years imprisonment, half of which is suspended for five years on condition that they are not found guilty of fraud during the period of suspension,” said Mathebula.
Meanwhile, North West provincial head of the Hawks, Major General Patrick Mbotho and the Director of Public Prosecutions in North West, Dr Rachel Makhari have lauded the investigation and prosecution team for securing a successful conviction against the two accused.
Earlier this week, IOL reported that a clerk working for the SA Police Service (SAPS) at the supply chain management unit in Jouberton has appeared before the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court in North West, facing charges of fraud.
North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adéle Myburgh said the accused, Goitseone Johnson Julius Kgoele, 48, was released on a warning.
IOL