Jailed for allegedly using fake money

Published Jan 16, 2019

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DURBAN - Claims that counterfeit notes were used to buy petrol worth R300 resulted in a Limpopo businessman spending several nights in a police cell. He was also subjected to threats and assaults by the police while in custody.

Tuan Oosthuizen, who is claiming R400000 in damages from the police, told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, that he was in constant fear while in custody and suffered mental anguish and emotional shock and trauma as a result. He vehemently denied that he had counterfeit money in his possession, let alone used it for petrol.

On the other hand, a petrol pump attendant claimed the R300 notes Oosthuizen paid with were counterfeit. However, the police never bothered to test the notes to ensure this was true.

Oosthuizen said he never paid for his petrol using the notes; he used R100 and four R50 notes.

Petrol pump attendant Hilton Masindi testified that Oosthuizen arrived at the Ayob Motors petrol station in Louis Trichardt at around midnight on May 6, 2011. He requested R300 worth of petrol and then went to the ATM machine on the premises. On his return he handed over R300 in notes, Masindi testified.

He took the money to the cashier, who scanned the notes and found them to be counterfeit, he said.

Masindi ran after Oosthuizen’s car, which was already down the road. Oosthuizen saw him and drove back to the garage.

Masindi said Oosthuizen denied that he had counterfeit notes and said he had withdrawn the notes from the ATM. The police were called and when they inspected the bank slip, they noticed that it was only a request for a balance enquiry. It was claimed that when they inspected Oosthuizen’s wallet, they found a further R1000 in counterfeit money. He was arrested.

Oosthuizen’s version is that he did request R300 worth of petrol before he went to the ATM to do a balance enquiry. He paid for the petrol and as he drove out of the petrol station, he was stopped down the road by the attendant. He was told that the R300 he had paid with was counterfeit.

He tried to explain that he did not use three R100 notes and agreed police should be called to resolve the dispute. But when the police arrived, they spoke to two attendants.

According to Oosthuizen, he saw the cashier earlier taking a roll of banknotes from his pockets and place it on the bonnet of the police vehicle, together with three R100 notes.

He said the police took his wallet and accused him of having a further R1000 in counterfeit notes in it. Oosthuizen said he tried to explain that there was no other money in his wallet, as he only had R307, for which he used R300 for the petrol, but no one would listen to him.

He was released from the holding cells a few days later and nothing came of the charges against him.

Oosthuizen said it was all a mistake or a “set-up” and he never had any counterfeit money.

His advocate told the court that although there was camera footage available to verify his version, this was never used to investigate the matter.

The police simply took the word of the petrol station attendants that the money was counterfeit and never at any stage had the money inspected.

Acting Judge J Ntloko-Gobodo ruled that police liable for damages Oosthuizen could prove he had suffered.

THE MERCURY 

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