A 25-year-old woman who allegedly lied about her qualifications as a radiographer made a brief appearance in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Monday on a charge of fraud.
Asisipho Mbekela worked at the Livingstone Hospital as a radiographer for six months in 2016.
The accused, who was accompanied by a man, quickly tried to leave the court when the matter was postponed.
An Algoa FM intern, who was covering the story, tried to take a photograph of Mbekela outside of court when she started shouting at the intern that she "needed Jesus".
The Algoa FM intern identified herself as a journalist and that she had a right to be there when Mbekela's male companion grabbed her by the arm.
The man, whose identity is not yet known to Algoa FM, tried to grab the intern's phone when a scuffle ensued.
Two security guards rushed to her aid.
The intern has since laid a charge of common assault at the Mount Road police station.
The Case against Mbekela was postponed until the 6th of June for more charges from the Western Cape and North Gauteng to be added to the charge sheet.
According to the indictment, Mbekela made misrepresentations to the department and falsely indicated on her Z83 application form that she had obtained a qualification "Radiography Nuclear Med" at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2015.
However, the State alleges that Mbekela lied about her qualification and failed dismally, only passing one of her four subjects during her final examination. She obtained the following results:
Radiographic Practice 35%,
Clinical Radio-graphic Practice 50%,
Nuclear Medicine Instrumentation 25%
Radiopharmacy 32%
In order to pass a subject, a student must obtain a mark of at least 50% or more. A student who obtains less than a sub-minimum of 40% shall not be allowed to write a supplementary examination. The National Diploma in Radiography: Nuclear Medicine, is a minimum requirement for registration in radiography.
