Johannesburg - Four licensing officials in Standerton, Mpumalanga, were sentenced to heavy fines or jail time in relation to multiple counts of fraud committed at the local registering authority between 2013 and 2019.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said the four are among the eight officials who were detained in August 2019 as a result of investigations that revealed an official's scheme to falsely dump high motor vehicle licence fees, arrears, and fines so that operators could avoid paying.
"It was alleged that a bogus vehicle dealership had been created to perpetrate (the fraud) which cost the Mpumalanga provincial government R4 million in lost revenue," the RTMC said.
The Middelburg Regional Court sentenced the four officials, Joyce Smangele Selepe, Ida Vangile Mdluli, Thembi Mavuso and Mduduzi Robert Nkutha, to heavy fines or imprisonment on Wednesday after they pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fraud.
Selepe, who pleaded guilty to 30 counts of fraud, was sentenced to R80 000 fine or five years imprisonment and a further five years suspended for five years on the condition that she is not convicted of fraud during the period of suspension.
Mdluli, who pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud, was sentenced to R30 000 fine or two years imprisonment, with a further two years imprisonment suspended for five years on the condition that she is not convicted of fraud during the period of suspension.
Mavuso was sentenced to a R50 000 fine or three years imprisonment and a further three years imprisonment suspended for five years on the condition that she is not convicted of fraud during the period of suspension. She had pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud.
Nkutha was sentenced to a R30 000 fine or two years imprisonment, and a further two years were suspended for five years on the condition that he was not found guilty of fraud during the period of suspension. He had pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud.
"The remaining four accused are scheduled to appear in court on May 10, 2023. The Road Traffic Management Corporation welcomes the sentences and warns others who are involved in fraud and corruption that the long arm of the law will ultimately catch up with them," the RTMC said.
The Star