Cape Town – A Cape Town Post Office employee was reportedly arrested in connection with the theft of unclaimed South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) funds.
The 36-year-old man, who was employed at the Post Office in Bishop Lavisas as an administrator, reportedly stole R200 000 worth of unclaimed grants in May.
According to Western Cape police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk, the suspect was arrested for theft, fraud, perjury and forgery at his place of work on Monday, reported News24.
The report said the suspect, Cole Lee Fortuin, was supposed to return the money to the Post Office’s bank account via a private security company.
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“It is alleged that the suspect then made forged entries into these registers, indicating that the funds were indeed collected by the security company and deposited into the post office bank account, whereas this was not done,” IOL quoted van Wyk as saying.
The suspect appeared at the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and the case was postponed to September 29.
The provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit was also investigating a similar case involving R500 000, the report said.
“The Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation, upon further investigation, (the unite) identified a further case involving approximately R500 000, using the same modus operandi. The investigation continues,” van Wyk added.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
