A 32-year-old Eastern Cape man has been fined for trying to defraud the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
Tubalomthandazo Butshingi was convicted and sentenced in the East London Regional Court.
According to the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as Hawks), Butshingi was arrested in October, following an investigation.
Provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said Butshingi unlawfully and intentionally submitted false claim documents to the RAF.
He told the RAF that on September 7, 2020, he was involved in a hit-and-run accident.
“In his claim Butshingi said he was a pedestrian standing on the side of the road, waiting to cross, when an unknown vehicle coming from a nearby location knocked him down and never stopped,” Mgolodela said.
“Butshingi then claimed to have sustained a fractured right ankle during this unverified hit-and-run incident.”
Mgolodela said the RAF’s internal investigation and hospital records revealed that Butshingi slipped and fell and that was how he sustained the injuries.
“The matter was then reported to the Hawks for an extensive probe that revealed that Butshingi deliberately submitted false claims with the intention of defrauding RAF an amount of more than R5 million,” Mgolodela said.
Butshingi was released on bail following his arrest.
Mgolodela said Butshingi was fined R60,000 or three years direct imprisonment.
“He received a further three years imprisonment, wholly suspended for a period of five years on condition that he is not convicted of fraud during the period of suspension.”
Provincial Hawks head, Major General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya commended the teams for a successful prosecution.
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