There seems to be a trend in South Africa that there are two streams of justice, one for the rich and one for the poor.
That is why this country is in the state that it's in.
These were the words of Gqeberha Magistrate Lionel Lindoor, moments before sentencing a former VWSA fleet administrator who defrauded the company of R12 million.
Christo de Jager, 61, was sentenced in the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday, on one count of corruption and 594 counts of fraud.
The crimes were committed between November 2014 and March 2021.
De Jager used his position to hatch a scheme with an employee at body repair company Autotrust to do work for VWSA.
He was then paid monthly for generating fraudulent invoices.
On the corruption charge, De Jager was sentenced to 10 years, which has been wholly suspended for five years.
Lindoor sentenced him to five years of direct imprisonment in line with Section 276 1 (i) of the Criminal Procedure Act on the myriad of fraud charges.
This means that he will have to serve a sixth of his sentence, and could then be released under correctional supervision.
In De Jager's case, this will equate to ten months behind bars.
Lindoor said after considering all of the factors like De Jager's personal circumstances, the nature of the crime, and the interests of society, direct imprisonment was the only suitable sentence.
He did, however, find enough reasons for him to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence of 15 years in prison.
De Jager's age, his health conditions, the fact that he pleaded guilty, and that he is a first offender was also taken into account.
De Jager started his apprenticeship at VWSA and was employed for many years with a good salary, so the motive seems to have been greed, Lindoor said.
He added that De Jager had ample time to reflect on his actions over the years, but he continued in a calculated and systematic manner.
"I am surprised that you stand here before me alone and that mister Dolf Jonker (the owner of Autotrust) is not in the dock with you.
"I trust that the prosecutor will do the honourable thing and bring mister Jonker to book."
Lindoor made mention of the fact that Jonker had paid back all of the monies owed to VWSA after the crime was discovered.
"This court should never send the message that if a crime is discovered one can simply pay back the money and you won't be prosecuted.
"It should not be seen that there are two streams of justice, one for the rich and one for the poor.
"This seems to be the trend in South Africa, that is why the country is in the state it is in.
"I hope the prosecutor is taking note," he said.
According to Lindoor, he considered giving De Jager a fine, but considering the amount involved in the case, it would have to be a large fine and he's unemployed.
In Lindoor's opinion, a wholly suspended sentence or one of correctional supervision would have overemphasized De Jager's personal circumstances and underplayed the interests of society.
