A forensic investigator told the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court that one of the three accused appearing for allegedly defrauding the Department of Labour (DoL) had willingly crafted a statement that implicated himself in the crime, and that later led to his arrest, the Court heard today.
The forensic further testified that on 18 January 2010, the day Samuel Mfeleng had accompanied him to the Police Station in Pretoria to draft his statement, he also heard from one of the police that they had earlier on the said day also arrested another suspect (Maxwell Ramaphosa) for defrauding the Department of Labour Compensation Fund (CF).
The forensic investigator was testifying in the trial of three former employees of the Department of Labour’s (DoL) Compensation Fund (CF) accused of allegedly defrauding the department.
Maxwell Ramaphosa, Samuel Mfeleng, and (Ms) Kgabo Johanna Methi are alleged to have defrauded the department of R476 150, 58. The three accused have pleaded not guilty and are facing three counts of fraud and four counts of money laundering. The accused are out on a warning.
A fellow co-accused of the trio, Dr. Jones Mothemola Modau, a physiotherapist based in Rustenburg, North West, pleaded guilty in March 2012 in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court - where the matter was originally heard.
Modau is serving a five-year suspended sentence.
The forensic investigator was accused by the defence of infringing on the rights of the accused (Mfeleng) when he “arrested” him. The investigator told the Court that he never arrested Mfeleng, but had asked him to accompany him (forensic investigator) to the police station, after he realised he was not co-operating. He said it was at the Police Station after he had completed the drafting of his statement that he was arrested for fraud.
The trial continues on July 2.
The Compensation Fund is a public entity of the Department of Labour. The Fund provides cover for workers injured during work, illness and death sustained during occupation.
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Page Boikanyo
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