THE Middelburg regional court will today rule on whether the six foreign doctors facing fraud and money laundering charges will be given bail.
The five Nigerian nationals and a Zambian appeared before magistrate Mark Botha yesterday. They are Rasheed Olawale Aremu, Akinloye Olabayo Eweoya, Boladele Olotu, Valentive Chike Ezulu, Chukwu Emeka Okafor, all Nigerians and Daniele Monde from Zambia.
They are facing draft charges, including racketeering and money laundering, medical aid fraud, fraud regarding illegal immigration regulations, health protection Act, Medicine Control Act and theft of state medication.
Advocate Nic Potgieter for the six submitted a copy of a letter purporting to be from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, confirming the registration of the five Nigerians as qualified doctors. The letter was signed by an officer of the Consulate General of Nigeria in Johannesburg.
The letter also stated that Olotu and Eweoya qualified at the University Of Ilorin in Nigeria in 2003 and 1995, respectively. Aremu and Okafor qualified at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria in 1994 and 1992, respectively while Ezulu qualified at the University of Nigeria in 2003.
Potgieter could not produce any proof regarding Monde's qualifications, saying his client could not obtain the documents because he was in custody.
Botha interjected that Monde had a legal representative, he could have made a phone call, accessed a fax and also that he had friends that could have helped him.
He also reminded Potgieter that Monde has made a statement to the police after his arrest that he was not a medical doctor but a clinical psychologist and that he practised as a doctor to make a living.
Advocate Anise Venter for the state expressed her doubts about the authenticity of the information in the letter.
Botha described the case as serious, saying he was not going to rush to make a decision.
Court to rule over 'docs' bail
THE Middelburg regional court will today rule on whether the six foreign doctors facing fraud and money laundering charges will be given bail.
The five Nigerian nationals and a Zambian appeared before magistrate Mark Botha yesterday. They are Rasheed Olawale Aremu, Akinloye Olabayo Eweoya, Boladele Olotu, Valentive Chike Ezulu, Chukwu Emeka Okafor, all Nigerians and Daniele Monde from Zambia.
They are facing draft charges, including racketeering and money laundering, medical aid fraud, fraud regarding illegal immigration regulations, health protection Act, Medicine Control Act and theft of state medication.
Advocate Nic Potgieter for the six submitted a copy of a letter purporting to be from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, confirming the registration of the five Nigerians as qualified doctors. The letter was signed by an officer of the Consulate General of Nigeria in Johannesburg.
The letter also stated that Olotu and Eweoya qualified at the University Of Ilorin in Nigeria in 2003 and 1995, respectively. Aremu and Okafor qualified at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria in 1994 and 1992, respectively while Ezulu qualified at the University of Nigeria in 2003.
Potgieter could not produce any proof regarding Monde's qualifications, saying his client could not obtain the documents because he was in custody.
Botha interjected that Monde had a legal representative, he could have made a phone call, accessed a fax and also that he had friends that could have helped him.
He also reminded Potgieter that Monde has made a statement to the police after his arrest that he was not a medical doctor but a clinical psychologist and that he practised as a doctor to make a living.
Advocate Anise Venter for the state expressed her doubts about the authenticity of the information in the letter.
Botha described the case as serious, saying he was not going to rush to make a decision.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos