Seven private vehicle testing station officials have been sentenced by the Polokwane Commercial Crimes Court for fraudulently issuing roadworthy certificates to vehicles that were never tested.
The suspects appeared in court last week, where they were sentenced to five years in prison or a R20 000 fine.
The officials were found guilty of 51 charges of fraud related to transactions conducted at the Palala private testing station in Lephalale in 2019.
They were arrested in 2019, following investigations by the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit (NTACU), a division of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), and the serious corruption team of the Hawks.
The investigation follows SARS concerns raised in April 2019 about the vehicles they had impounded at a facility in Mpumalanga. The vehicles were found to have been issued roadworthy certificates by the Palala testing station without being physically presented for testing.
“An investigation was immediately launched. When the investigation team visited the station, they found the officials processing roadworthy certificates for vehicles that were not present at the station. They were immediately arrested and charged with fraud alternatively contravening the National Road Traffic Act [93 of 1996],” the RTMC said on Friday.
The accused were found guilty on July 31 and appeared in court again on Wednesday when they were sentenced.
The officials include Pieter Frederick Francois Schutte (68), Marisca Erasmus (34), Lebogang Rapetsoa (30), Democracy Vhutolo Khangale (36), Thapelo Kgositsile Medupi (42), Makwena Silas Mashala (34) and Mphokane Nicol Medupi (41).
“The RTMC welcomes the sentence as it sends a message that there are consequences for crime irrespective of whether it is committed at a privately owned company. The seven will not be able to work at any testing station in South Africa again.
“However, the RTMC would have preferred a custodial sentence because unroadworthy vehicles are a menace on the country’s roads causing avoidable crashes and fatalities.”
Mpumalanga officer sentenced to four years over R200 bribe
Meanwhile, a Mpumalanga traffic officer was recently sentenced to four years’ direct imprisonment for accepting a R200 bribe from undercover anti-corruption agents.
This followed a sting operation organised by the NTACU and the Mpumalanga division of the Hawks in 2019, to target traffic officers coercing motorists into paying bribes on the N4 near Middelburg.
Zanele Christian Vilakazi (39) and Andrew Bongani Simphiwe Nkosi (48) were arrested during the operation and charged with corruption.
After a protracted trial, the court found them guilty and handed down a four-year custodial sentence. Nkosi passed away before the trial’s conclusion, while Vilakazi began serving her sentence earlier this month, the RTMC confirmed. – SAnews.gov.za
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