The head of communications of the SAPS in North West, Brig. Sabata Mokgwabone, has confirmed that the Choppies fraud case has been reopened for further investigation. However, no one has been arrested at this stage.
‘The reopening was done so that the complainant can provide the police with more information to assist with the investigation. It was not there when the case was withdrawn,’ he said.
As stated thirty-four days ago, the Choppies case was successfully reopened following the intervention of the senior state prosecutor at the Potchefstroom magistrate’s court, Adv. Eileen Viljoen.
She viewed the case docket and instructed that the case be reopened for a thorough investigation.
What happened in the Choppies fraud case?
As previously reported, the Choppies case deals with the JB Marks municipal food parcel account. The account at the store was intended for funeral assistance to indigent families who reside within the municipality.
According to a reliable source, the municipality deposited money into the account every month. The problem arose when a municipal official started collecting the balance in cash payments at each month end.
‘This had been happening since June last year. The irregularities were detected in March and reported to head office. The cash collected over the ten-month period allegedly amounted to hundreds of thousands. The two employees were dismissed after due process was followed,’ said the source.
The Choppies head office detected fraudulent activity on the account, which led to the dismissal of the Potchefstroom Choppies branch- and administrative managers in May. A JB Marks official is also implicated in the fraud case.
Close to R400 000 involved in the Choppies case
The Choppies fraud case attracted attention after a tip-off from a community member. The Herald was reliably informed that the cash involved amounted to R397 632.
The Herald could not determine where the cash went after the official collected it.
Since a new investigation has been ordered, the Herald wanted to know from Brig. Mokgwabone how the case was investigated before the senior state prosecutor reopened it and what the Potchefstroom police are doing differently this time around.
The Herald also wanted to know if the documents submitted by the complainant detailing the fraud are still intact in the docket.
Brig. Mokgwabone said the investigation was conducted according to the procedure, though each case is treated according to its merits. ‘This is all that we can say regarding this matter,’ he said.
Since the news broke that the Choppies fraud case has been reopened, it has come to the Herald’s attention that some of the dockets that went to court following the previous investigation were not reviewed by the senior ranking police officials.
The investigating officers handling the case submitted the dockets to court themselves. Since the Choppies case, senior ranking police officials review all dockets before they are transferred to court. Brig. Mokgwabone could not confirm or deny the statement.
*The community will be kept informed of any developments in the case.
https://www.citizen.co.za/potchefstroom-herald/48441/choppies-fires-two-managers-j-b-marks-food-parcels-account/
https://www.citizen.co.za/potchefstroom-herald/50525/senior-state-prosecutor-reopens-choppies-fraud-case/
