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Health worker arrested for selling fake Covid-19 negative tests
The investigation continues and officials believe more arrests will follow in due course.
Photo: iStock
A Parkhurst Clinic health worker was arrested on Saturday and will be charged with fraud for selling fake Covid-19 negative tests to travellers.
Fake Covid-19 negative tests
The health worker, who sold the tests for R500 each, was closely monitored for several days, and will appear in the Booysens Magistrate Court on Monday.
He was arrested yesterday during a sting operation led by Johannesburg mayor Jolidee Matonga, in close partnership with the JMPD and the City’s Group Forensic and Investigation Services (GFIS).
The City’s spokesperson, Lucky Sindane, said the suspect sold fake negative tests “to South Africans wishing to travel to other countries without conducting an actual Covid-19 test”.
Modus operandi
The suspect allegedly collected ID numbers from travellers, who would then receive an SMS from the laboratory within two to three days.
The SMS contained information pertaining to a fake negative Covid-19 test. Once payment of R500 was made, the health worker would release the test certificate.
Authorities say the health worker wasn’t working alone. The investigation continues and officials believe more arrests will follow in due course.
‘Compromises the whole country’
Mayor Matonga warned of the dangers this could hold for the public, and encouraged other health workers to refrain from engaging “in such corrupt activities”.
“It compromises the whole country. Imagine someone who has contracted Covid-19 and they are given a certificate which says they are negative. That person will infect many people and some may succumb to the virus”.
He said officials must “set an example and send a strong message to people who are doing this”. He said corruption has no place in the City, and said the task team will continue its investigation.
“If the laws of this country have to be changed to deal with such, let us do that”, the mayor added.
The City encourages residents to report fraud and corruption through the 24-hour tip-off hotline, on 0800-002-587, or visit the GFIS offices on 48 Ameshoff Street, Braamfontein.
10-year jail sentence in UK
Meanwhile, the maximum penalty for fraudulently entering the United Kingdom on false representation carries a 10-year-jail sentence.
An immigration official recently told a parliamentary committee as many as 100 artificial Covid-19 documents “are being spotted every day” to get into the country.
Lucy Moreton, professional officer for the Immigration Services Union (ISU), said officials flag hundreds of Covid-19 certificates, and she fears “many more [already] evaded detection”.
A government spokesperson said the NHS Covid-19 Pass “includes rigorous security features”, and said law enforcement will continue to clamp down on Covid-19 fraud.
NOW READ: The 10 biggest and weirdest Covid scams and schemes of 2021
