Durban - A SECOND-HAND goods dealer pleaded guilty to theft after he was found in possession of Westville businesswoman Sandra Moonsamy’s phone.
Moonsamy, a mother of two, was kidnapped on Stapleton Road/M13 at the on-ramp in Pinetown, on May 30, last year. She was found alive in Emalahleni (Witbank) in Mpumalanga 160 days later.
Jerry Ejikwe Ogbuanu, 36, was found in possession of Moonsamy’s iPhone 7 Plus, and was arrested and released on R5 000 bail in August 2019.
Durban Regional Court Magistrate Mannega Reddy on Monday sentenced him to a R5 000 fine or two years’ imprisonment.
In his guilty plea, Ogbuanu said he was a second-hand goods dealer in the Point area and had been approached by a street beggar who said he had found the phone in a bin. The beggar was selling the phone for R1 000. Ogbuanu offered him R900. Police tracked the phone to Ogbuanu’s shop.
“I saw an opportunity to sell it for a profit. I was aware that the phone could have been stolen. My behaviour was wrong. Despite me not personally removing the phone from the owner, I was nonetheless committing the offence of theft. My disclosure to the police assisted in the investigations,” Ogbuanu said.
Moonsamy was the financial manager at the family business, Crossmoor Transport Plant.
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said four people, aged between 30 and 34, were arrested in connection with Moonsamy’s kidnapping.
Prosecutor Kuveshni Pillay said the four men faced charges of kidnapping, extortion and attempted murder. They are being held at Kokstad C-Max Prison.
Pillay told the court that theft was a prevalent crime in KwaZulu-Natal.
She said the phone was taken in serious and violent circumstances.
During sentencing, Reddy told Ogbuanu that people such as himself created a market for theft in society and that the courts wanted to curb crime.
Moonsamy’s family refused to comment.