Woman found guilty of swindling NDB P97,000

Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday January 20, 2015 15:48

 

Keitebetse had pleaded not guilty to the offence and chose to give an unsworn statement. When passing judgment, Principal Magistrate Dumisani Basupi said the first prosecution witness who is a risk analyst at NDB said Keitebetse had applied for a Bokamoso loan. An amount of P97,000 was subsequently deposited into Keitebetse’s bank account.  She however later denied that she had applied for a loan from NDB or that the bank had deposited money into her account.A First National Bank statement, Certificate of land rights, Omang, NDB loan letter, salary advice slip amongst other documents bearing Keitebetse’ s full names were produced in court as evidence.

Basupi said the FNB manager who was the second prosecution witness indicated that it is not possible for another person to withdraw the money from Keitebetse’s account without her authority.

“Examining the totality of evidence, I find that P97,000 from NDB was indeed deposited into the accused’s FNB account. It is the evidence of the second prosecution witness that nobody can withdraw money from the accused’s account without her consent and authority. All documents produced in court bear the full names of the accused. This evidence was further corroborated by the investigating officer.”

“In my view the accused seems to want to distance herself from the matter. The amount of P97,000 is a lot. It is impossible for NDB to give it to a fictitious person. For the accused to say that she knows nothing about the money that was deposited into her account is an afterthought designed to mislead this court,” said the magistrate. 

Basupi added that the prosecution had produced overwhelming evidence against Keitebetse, adding that P97,000 was a high amount, more so if it was obtained through fraudulent means. Prosecutor Gasemotho Pitlagano told court he would have to liaise with the police fingerprints bureau to confirm if the accused had previous offences.