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Labour fraud case postponed

A fraud case against six former employees of the labour department's compensation fund has been postponed by the Pretoria Magistrate's Court, the department said.

The matter was postponed to May 22 when the trial would start, spokesman Page Boikanyo said in a statement.

He said that during an appearance on Tuesday, the court also transferred the case to another court as one of the accused had pleaded guilty and was being tried separately.

Physiotherapist Abel Diokana was convicted of helping his co-accused to scam the fund out of R949,175. He will be sentenced on June 28.

Maxwell Ramaphosa, Samuel Mfeleng, Kgabo Methi, Debbie Venter, Tendani Mukomafhedzi and Billy Ramskin face four counts of fraud and two counts of money-laundering.

"The former public servants are out on a warning and are yet to plead," Boikanyo said.

They allegedly recruited Diokana to submit fraudulent claims to the fund, which provides compensation for workers who fall ill or are injured while doing their jobs.

They would allegedly process the claims and make out payments, which they shared.

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