Undocumented Zimbabwean National Sentenced to 6 Years Imprisonment for Stealing Railway Tracks Worth R132k
- An illegal immigrant was sentenced to six years' imprisonment by the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday 25 May
- Petros Vingiran was found guilty of theft of essential infrastructure as well as entering South Africa illegally
- He was arrested at the Koedoespoort campus on a functional railway line while stealing locomotive bearings
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PRETORIA - An undocumented Zimbabwean national who was caught red-handed stealing pieces of a working railway track that he stripped was sentenced to six years' imprisonment.
Petros Vingiran appeared in the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday 25 May. The 26-year-old was found guilty of theft of essential infrastructure.
Source: Getty Images
He also pleaded guilty to entering South Africa illegally. The National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahajana said security guards found Vingiran at the Koedoespoort campus on a functional railway line while stealing locomotive bearings valued at R132 000 that belonged to Transnet, TimesLIVE reported. He was arrested at the crime scene.
According to Vingiran, Prosecutor Dru Ramsamy said the money that was supposed to be spent on developing communities is instead spent on replacing damaged items and tightening security. Ramsamy said Vingiran had no regard for the laws of the country, according to IOL.
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SA reacts
Social media users were outraged by the short sentence and called for harsher action:
@i_sephara said:
“Only 6 years for economic sabotage? Now I see why we are the laughingstock of Southern Africa. In Namibia, Botswana, or Swaziland he would have gotten over 10 years for this. But in SA we have soft judges who are out of touch with the realities of our country.”
@c_motswakae wrote:
“Six years is an insult to South Africans, how can a foreigner be sentenced to such years where a citizen of the country could be easily sentenced to 10-15 years. That's not a punishment but a slap on the wrist for wrongdoing in a foreign country.”
@Cya_mbulungwana posted:
“This sentence is an insult to us South African citizens, 6 years is equal to 3 years in jail. considering the importance of railway infrastructure to us, this is supposed to be treated as treason or more years in years in jail.”
@Mlandzeni1 commented:
“Only 6 years for such a treasonous crime? The Justice System is not serious.”
@NyawoVeza added:
“Why not six-teen years? This is a treasonous crime that requires no mercy by our courts! The leniency is the country’s undoing!”
12 Zimbabwean nationals set to apply for bail following foiled robbery of copper from transport company
In a related matter, Briefly News also reported 12 Zimbabwean men are facing numerous charges, including attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicensed firearm and being in the country illegally.
The suspects were arrested while allegedly attempting to rob a transport company and are set to apply for bail in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 17 May.
Source: Briefly News
