Bellville
Jail will be death sentence : fraudster
- 31 May
A clothing designer who pleaded guilty to tax fraud of R6 million,
has told a court that sending him to jail would amount to a death
sentence. Hein Reinders is HIV-positive. His lawyer, Pete Mihalik,
told the Bellville Regional Court a prison sentence would be cruel
and unusual punishment as the jail conditions would probably kill
him. In 2005 three judges of the Australian Federal Court ruled that
conditions in South African jails were such that incarceration
amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment", which is forbidden by
the constitution. In January, Reinders pleaded guilty to tax fraud.
He admitted that he had submitted false VAT claims amounting to
"millions of rands" on behalf of his defunct clothing business
Rainbow Clothing, and had used the money to fund his addiction to
drugs and tattoos, among other things. -
IOL
website
Durban
Woman due in court for alleged concert scam - 7 May
The trial of a woman who allegedly implicated American R&B singer
Robert Kelly (popularly known as R Kelly) in an investment scam,
will start on July 15. Durban resident Busisiwe Priscilla Zakwe
implicated R Kelly in an alleged investment scam that apparently
swindled money from more than 50 people, many of them pensioners. -
IOL
website
Sting
in the tail of prosecutor's corruption - 2 June
A Durban Regional Court has heard how a prosecutor engaged in a
sting operation to nab an allegedly corrupt senior prosecutor
accused of seeking a R1 million bribe to rig a multi-million rand
drugs case. Details of a go-between lawyer, beachfront meetings, a
promise of promotion, and a prosecutor wearing an eavesdropping
"wire" have emerged at the trial of former
Pietermaritzburg control prosecutor Zandile Lorraine Radebe. - IOL
website
Pietermaritzburg
Ex-MEC's
corruption case postponed - 3 June
Loud chants and singing emanated from the Pietermaritzburg Regional
Court on Monday as Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni, KwaZulu-Natal's former
health MEC, appeared on charges of corruption and fraud. Her
supporters filled the small courtroom, as she entered accompanied by
an entourage of bodyguards and aides. The matter was set down for
trial on Monday. - IOL
website
Pretoria
'It's all false' - 8 May
It's all false, said Durban businessman Roy Moodley today of his
arrest for allegedly trying to bribe his way into a prime seat at
tomorrow's presidential inauguration. Moodley appeared in a Pretoria
regional court yesterday, where he was released on R2 000 bail after
spending a night at the Sunnyside police station cells. -
IOL
website
It was a tip, not a bribe: businessman - 14 May
Charges of corruption and bribery have been withdrawn against
Chockalingam Roy Moodley, the Durban business tycoon who allegedly
wanted a seat with a better view during President Jacob Zuma's
inauguration in Pretoria. -
IOL
website
Vietnamese 'with lion parts' case continues - 12 May
The Vietnamese man who allegedly had several pieces of lion parts -
including three carcasses - in his Brooklyn home, might enter into a
plea-bargain agreement with the State. Nguxen van Hai appeared in
Pretoria Regional Court for the first time on Monday after his case
was transferred there. He was arrested on March 30 on five charges
of contravening the National
Environmental Management Biodiversity Act by being in
possession of "threatened/protected species without permits". -
IOL
website