Rustenburg – A former cashier at the Polokwane police station in Limpopo was sentenced at the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in connection with theft of R264 729.60 at the station. But if she repays the money, she won’t be jailed.
Kgomotso Yvonne Mashala, 35, was sentenced on Monday. But if she repays the money, she won’t be jailed.
“Between January 19, 2018 and February 7, 2018, Mashala was working at Polokwane police station as a cashier responsible for receiving and depositing the state money into the state bank account,” said Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke.
“The auditors conducted an audit and it was revealed that an amount of R264 729.60 was missing and unaccounted for during the period Mashala was still a cashier. The money was stolen on different dates.”
The matter was referred to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team.
Captain Maluleke said the National Prosecuting Authority issued a summons against Mashala to appear in court on August 31, 2018.
“Mashala was out on bail until she was sentenced. On count one she was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment wholly suspended on condition that she repays R183 727.70, while on count two she was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment or a R5 000 fine also wholly suspended on condition that she repays an amount of R81 001.90. The total amount to be repaid is R264 729.60.”
In an unrelated incident, a 27-year-old woman was arrested in Masoyi on Monday for contravening the National Credit Act.
Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said the woman was arrested during a search-and-seizure operation following information that she was operating an illegal cash loan business which was not registered with the National Credit Regulator.
“When the team executed the search warrant at her premises, bank cards, South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) grant cards and identity documents of clients as well as cash were found and seized,” Sekgotodi said.
“It was established that the suspect was retaining clients' bank cards to secure payments on their cash loans. These cards were illegally kept in order to ensure that clients pay back their dues monthly with inflated interest.”
IOL