Cape Town - A woman who “scrubs floors and washes glasses” for a living, told a court in Cape Town on Tuesday of her disappointment over losing two gold bangles which she handed in at the jewellery shop for “remodelling”.
Suragha Adams testified at the trial of jeweller Ferial Baboet and her husband, Denish Nathoo, owners of the jewellery store Damjee Bros.
They have pleaded not guilty to 170 counts, including fraud, in which they are alleged to have lodged a false insurance claim involving an alleged faked robbery. Adams told the court that she paid R2 000 for the job, in October, 2006. She added: “Ferial said they were busy, but hoped to have the work completed before the end of that year.”
It later transpired that the bangles had been sent to a workshop in Durban, she said, but she had never received them back, nor the money.
She said she went to the police about it, and was later invited to view confiscated jewellery at a police station, to determine whether her bangles were among the exhibits. They were not. She told the court: “I worked very hard for the bangles.”
Questioned by defence advocate Grant Smith, she said she was unable to attach any value to her loss, over and above the R2 000. The defence said this was a business transaction “gone sour”, and not a criminal matter.
Smith asked why she went to the police instead of an attorney. In reply, she blurted: “I trusted her with my bangles, and was waiting for her to fulfil my trust. Asked again why she went to the police, she replied: “In my mind, I could not trust her any longer, and I thought I would find justice with the police. “She had disappeared, and I wanted to find out where she was. “My money is gone, my stuff is gone and she's gone.”
According to the charge sheet, Damjee Bros Jewellers specialised in jewellery design and manufacturing. The wife ran an outlet in Rylands, while the husband operated a store in the Cavendish Square shopping centre, in Cape Town's southern suburbs.
The wife received jewellery from customers for repair, and designed and manufactured jewellery according to customers' specifications.
According to the charge sheet, jewellery handed in for repair was kept at the Rylands store, and the key to the store was kept at their home in Rondebosch East. Prosecutor Jacques Smith alleges that a case docket was registered by the wife for a robbery at their home that never happened.
In the robbery docket, they falsely alleged that their home was forcefully entered while they were asleep, and that they were robbed of various items, including the key to the Rylands jewellery store. It is alleged that they falsely informed the police that the robbers proceeded to the jewellery store, and stole customers' jewellery worth R900 000.
At the time, the business was insured with the Zurich Insurance Company, against loss or theft at the stores. They were also insured with the company MUA, for loss of household contents. It is alleged that they submitted a false R956 021 claim with Zurich, and were paid R758 220, but informed their customers that the claim had been rejected.
Similarly, as a result of a false claim submitted to MUA, they were paid out R292 320. It is alleged that some of the jewellery which they claimed had been stolen during the bogus robbery, was found in their home and some in one of the stores. It is alleged that none of the 14 victims received their deposits back, and that the total loss, including the insurance payouts, amounted to R8.3 million.
The case continues on Thursday.
African News Agency