Sentencing proceedings against a Road Accident Fund (RAF) employee and his accomplice, convicted of fraud and money laundering involving a R2m settlement, have been postponed to December 3 after a pre-sentencing report was submitted late.
The report, requested in September, was only handed to the State less than an hour before proceedings were due to begin on Wednesday, prompting the defence to request more time to study it.
RAF employee Mzuvukile Gcanabana and his accomplice, Nokulungisa Mavuso, were convicted on July 20 of fraud and money laundering after receiving R400,000 from a claimant they had helped secure a settlement of more than R2m.
The pair were arrested on August 14 last year.
The claimant, who suffered severe burns in a motor vehicle accident, had initially been offered R25,000 by the RAF.
After rejecting the offer, she received assistance from Gcanabana and was eventually awarded more than R2m, which was paid directly into her bank account.
Under an agreement with Gcanabana, she subsequently transferred R300,000, followed by another R100,000, into Mavuso's bank account using details supplied by Gcanabana.
NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali confirmed the postponement.
"I can confirm that the report in question was requested in September.
"The State only received it today at about 10am this morning.
"Because of the lateness of the report, the defence asked for a remand because they want to consult on the report.
"If the report was done on time, the State would have finalised that case today," he said.
Daily Dispatch