The 56-year-old Hlengiwe Masilela was handed five years' imprisonment, which was wholly suspended for five years, by the Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting in Tlhabane, North West, yesterday. Masilela was convicted on 24 counts of fraud and 23 counts of money laundering, amounting to R850 000, which she had committed where she was working. 

'24-hour oxygen support'

The spokesperson of the North West Prosecuting Authority, Henry Mamothame, says the court took into consideration Masilela's state of health, as she is on 24-hour oxygen support. 

He says her conviction stems from the offences she committed from 15 December 2010 to 30 May 2012 while she was employed at Implats as head of the trades department. 

"Evidence led in court revealed that Masilela, given her responsibility to manage accounts and as a final approver of all transactions on the SAP Accounting System, manipulated the company by requesting vouchers at the Waterfall Mall in Rustenburg. The request was submitted with falsified signatures of accountants and managers from other shafts. 

"The mall would subsequently issue invoices, which she would authorise with falsified signatures for payment of these vouchers, and the only authentic signature would be hers as the final signatory. The invoices would later be submitted to the accounts payable staff for processing," explained Mamothame.

'Vouchers used to purchase consumer items'

Mamothame said Masilela collected the vouchers herself and, in some instances, arranged for them to be collected from the mall.

Further evidence indicated that these vouchers were used to purchase consumer items in various stores in the mall.

"In aggravation of sentence, the state prosecutor, Adv Geo Nel, argued that the accused manipulated her position to commit the crimes in a company that entrusted her with a responsibility to manage, but she instead used her colleagues’ fraudulent signatures in the process. He further argued that the accused only stopped stealing because she got caught and pleaded not guilty to the offence. She also did not pay back the stolen money after receiving her pension payout," he said.

Mamothame says the court agreed with the state and indicated that the offence was serious and that the accused showed no remorse. Before passing the sentence, the court also highlighted the need to consider that the offences were committed over 10 years ago and that Masilela requires special care due to her ill health.

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