A KWAZULU-NATAL prison official was jailed to eight years yesterday for defrauding the government of R1,12 million over five years.
Pietermaritzburg regional court magistrate Chris van Vuuren said the fraud by Vuleyise Vincent Ngcobo was carefully planned.
The nature of the crime and his lack of remorse overrode factors such as his age and his 32 years' service in the Department of Correctional Services.
Ngcobo, 55, worked at Sevontein Correctional Centre, a farm prison that produces food for prisons, where he supervised prisoners' cash and claims to the department. Prisoners are paid for the farm work they do.
Van Vuuren said serious corruption, fraud and theft from the government by civil servants were getting out of control despite pleas from senior officials to desist.
That it had been deemed necessary to implement an anonymous call hotline to report such matters indicated the depth to which some government officials had sunk.
Soft sentences for such convicted persons would not alleviate the situation, he said.
Ngcobo has since lost everything through an application brought by the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
Prison official is jailed for 8 years
A KWAZULU-NATAL prison official was jailed to eight years yesterday for defrauding the government of R1,12 million over five years.
Pietermaritzburg regional court magistrate Chris van Vuuren said the fraud by Vuleyise Vincent Ngcobo was carefully planned.
The nature of the crime and his lack of remorse overrode factors such as his age and his 32 years' service in the Department of Correctional Services.
Ngcobo, 55, worked at Sevontein Correctional Centre, a farm prison that produces food for prisons, where he supervised prisoners' cash and claims to the department. Prisoners are paid for the farm work they do.
Van Vuuren said serious corruption, fraud and theft from the government by civil servants were getting out of control despite pleas from senior officials to desist.
That it had been deemed necessary to implement an anonymous call hotline to report such matters indicated the depth to which some government officials had sunk.
Soft sentences for such convicted persons would not alleviate the situation, he said.
Ngcobo has since lost everything through an application brought by the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
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