Cape Town – An IT contractor accused of submitting fraudulent claims against the national department of transport’s division of Government Motor Transport, made his second appearance in a court in Cape Town on Monday.
Hendrik Johannes van Nykerk, 65, of Pelican Street, Nerina in Durbanville, appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville, a suburb of Cape Town, on Monday.
He appeared before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg, who warned him to appear again on February 2.
He faces 14 counts of fraud, involving R78 147. The accused was given the option to apply to Legal Aid SA for free legal representation but chose instead to engage his own privately-funded attorney.
According to the charge sheet, Van Nykerk was engaged by the transport department as an independent IT contractor.
Prosecutor Simon Leope alleges that he submitted 14 claims for payment for services rendered on days when he was either on leave, sick leave or on a day off and, in fact, did not provide the services for which he claimed.
The State alleges that this happened during the 10 months from February to November 2013, when he had to report directly to the department’s senior manager, Johan Koegelenberg.