Durban -
The State wants former police colonel Vincent Mdunge to pay back R847 901 he received in bonuses and allowances during his 27 years of service.
Last month, the former provincial police spokesman was found guilty of two counts of fraud and one count of forgery.
This was after the court heard testimony that he had not passed his matric and submitted a false senior certificate when he applied for a job as a police officer.
On Thursday he appeared before the Durban Regional Court, where he was expecting to hear his sentence, but prosecutor Barend Groen said they needed to address the issue of surplus remuneration first.
According to the State, Mdunge received nearly R1 million in overtime, a qualification bonus and other allowances since he was employed in April 1988.
There was no court application for him to pay back the salary he received, even though magistrate Thandeka Fikeni found him guilty of fraud.
His advocate, Saleem Khan, disputed the amount, saying that Mdunge paid between 40% and 45% in taxes which went back to the State.
However, he conceded that Mdunge’s pay slips needed to be looked at.
Khan told the court he believed that Mdunge should get a suspended sentence instead of jail time.
He said Mdunge was an exemplary employee who did his job diligently and this was his first offence.
“He has already been subjected to severe public humiliation and a deprivation of his pension of R4.2m, which has been withheld by the State since the termination of his term of employment in September 2013,” said Khan.
Groen said Khan’s argument held no water because Mdunge brought the humiliation upon himself.
“What about the humiliation he (Mdunge) brought upon his employer? He also had ample time to rethink his fraud, but he carried on for 27 years, preventing other members of the SAPS from being promoted to the position he occupied,” he said.
He urged the court to impose a proper sentence so as to discourage others from forging qualifications.
The matter was adjourned to February 17 for the police salary maintenance head, Colonel Nico Kleynhans, to give testimony on how they arrived at the R847 901 figure.
- Daily News