Durban -A Durban mother who was left penniless after her daughters cleaned out her bank accounts has no regrets about pressing charges against them for defrauding her of a R1.5million inheritance.
Zora Bee Khan, 57, spoke to the Daily News from her home in Umzinto after her daughters, Anisa Sayed Khan, 39, and Zaadhaya Khan, 33, were sentenced last week for the 2016 crime.
Zora Bee Khan said although she was heartbroken that her decision to press charges had ended their relationship, she felt relief after the two-year court battle.
Khan said her decision to charge them was not only to force them to pay back the money, but also to teach them a lesson.
On Friday, the Durban Regional Court sentenced Anisa and Zaadhaya each to five years in prison, which was wholly suspended for five years on condition that they were not convicted for a similar offence.
They each have to pay back R750000 and the court ordered that their bail of R20000 each should be paid to their mother.
The balance of the payment must be paid on or before October 31, failing which the sentence will be imposed.
Khan’s daughters transferred more than R1.5m from her bank account into theirs after the death of Khan’s husband.
She laid a charge of theft at the Umzinto police station after several failed attempts to discuss the matter with Anisa and Zaadhaya.
“At least I am going to get my money back. It was clear that they were not going to pay what they had stolen from me and I had no choice, but to get them arrested.
“I am happy with the sentence. I have been battling since 2016 to pay my medical bills,” said Khan.
She said from the different versions her daughters came up with during the trial, it was clear to her that they would not return the money willingly.
Khan testified that if it had not been for a letter she received from the bank reflecting a zero balance, she would not have known the money in her and her husband’s bank accounts had gone missing.
She was under the impression that her money was in the safe hands of her daughters.
The State alleged that in the wake of their father’s death in 2015, they offered to help their mother with her financial affairs.
Prosecutor Kuveshni Pillay said the sisters convinced Khan to sign up for internet banking and reveal her passwords.
An emotional Khan testified how her daughters warned her against her two sons and convinced her to give them access to her bank accounts to “monitor” them.
When Khan testified during sentencing proceedings, she said she did not want her daughters to get a jail sentence. She just wanted her money returned.
Magistrate Anand Maharaj found that the State had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the sisters had helped themselves to Khan’s money without her knowledge or consent.
Maharaj found that the daughters’ version - that their mother had authorised them to withdraw the amounts - was improbable.
He said when the daughters’ realised that they were not left anything in their father’s will, greed got the better of them and they decided to rob their mother of her inheritance.
Khan said: “This victory is not mine only, but I hope it would serve as a warning to other children. I expected my daughters to apologise to me.
“A mere ‘sorry’ would have consoled me. They have not spoken to me since, but I have hope that one day they will find it in their hearts to say sorry, ” she said.