52-Year-Old Limpopo Teacher Sentenced to 5 Years Imprisonment or R60,000 for Fraud

• A teacher from Limpopo received a five-year sentence or R60,000 fine after she was found guilty of fraud
• The teacher's private company provided services to the Department of Education to the value of R430,000, and she did not disclose that she was getting paid outside of her government job
• South Africans were discouraged by the sentence, and many slammed the criminal justice system

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered police investigations and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years. Do you have a hard news story you would like to share? Email tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.

POLOKWANE – The Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced a teacher to five years' suspended sentence or a R60,000 fine after being found guilty of fraud.

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Limpopo teacher committed fraud

According to IOL, Refilwe Molepo was found guilty of 10 fraud and contravening the Public Service Act counts. She was given her sentence on Friday, 5 April. Investigations into her fraudulent activities started in 2012 when a forensic investigator based in Polokwane received the green light to investigate her unlawful conduct.

Between April 2010 and August 2012, she acted as the director of her own company and rendered services to the Department of Education while still employed as a teacher. She failed to disclose that she provided the department services and pocketed R430,000. She was arrested in October last year, and she pleaded guilty.

Mzansi was not impressed with the sentence

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South Africans discussing the sentence on Facebook were disappointed with the ruling.

Roshan Lil-Ruthan said:

"The lesson that this educator and justice system teaches us is that crime does pay but only those who belong to the corrupt regime party."

Iona Scholtz said:

"We will never get rid of the scourge of crime."

Denny V D Rhede said:

"So she's permitted to continue to pocket school funds."

Mishack Mangena said:

"And she still keeps her job."

Antonio Siebrits said:

"She's got a future in politics."

Hildegard Steenkamp sentenced to 50 years in prison for 300 fraud counts

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Hildegard Steenkamp was sentenced to 50 years for defrauding her employer.

Steenkamp siphoned R530 million from her employer, Medtronic, to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

Although she pleaded for a lenient sentence, the judge put her behind bars for half a century, and SA was glad she would pay for her crimes.

Source: Briefly News