30 Jul 2014

Chief Magistrate Linah Oahile-Mokibe of the Village Magistrate Court has sentenced a South African, Kgosana Tladi, to a one-year imprisonment and fined him P22 000 for two counts of cybercrime.

This came after Tladi, who remained after his co-accused, Joseph John Ballout, was sentenced to six months imprisonment and fined P10 000 by the same court recently for a related offense.

Tladi was taken to prison where he had been kept since conviction a month ago. He faced two counts of unlawful possession of laptop computer and devices designed for commission of cyber offence and of unlawful importation of laptop devices.

For the first count, he was fined P11 000 or one year in default and six months imprisonment. He also received the same fine and imprisonment term for the second count.

The sentences will run consecutively, meaning that he will spend one year in prison.Particulars of the offense were that Tladi imported computer laptop devices and a printer (writer) designed for the commission of cybercrime fraud offences.

Tladi and two others who had since been discharged, were on July 12, 2013 at Block 9 in Mogoditshane found in possession of a grey LG laptop computer, a printer (writer) and chasing out cards designed and adapted for the purpose of commuting cyber fraud offences. Three forensic South African specialists testified for the prosecution.

They are Messrs Peter Botha, manager of Forensic Fraud Investigations at First National Bank Headquarters in Johannesburg; Shawn Nivir, a specialist forensic from Barclays Bank Africa; and Morris Myburg, a former senior manager in investigations but now sales manager at Cyander Computer Forensic Laboratory.

The court heard that all the chasing cards, which belonged to Absa Bank clients, were fraudulently used in South Africa to obtain R93 635 from clients’ accounts and the bank had to reimburse them at a cost. With regard to Game Store cards, which were also found to have been cloned, there was no evidence that they were used to swindle their owners.

Attorney Gabriel Kanjabanga, who represented Tladi, said in mitigation that his client saved the court time by pleading guilty. He also said the accused was a first offender with two children, one of them aged six. Mr Kanjabanga pleaded that his client should not be given a custodial sentence because he was the sole breadwinner.

A custodial sentence would also mean that Tladi’s 10 employees in his taxi business could lose their jobs. He said the accused had been cooperative, abided with bail conditions and attended court mentions from Welkom, South Africa, without fail. He said Tladi asked him to relay his regret and apology to all those whom he had caused pain and inconvenience.

He also asked the court to make Tladi pay so that he could also feel the pain of losing money. However, Chief Magistrate Oahile-Mokibe said an appropriate sentence should be imposed on the convict, particularly that he was not under the influence of youthfulness exuberance as he is 46 years old. ENDS