Lentswe, Klerksdorp - Thinus Becker Theunissen (64) was sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment on nine counts of theft when he appeared in the Klerksdorp Specialised Commercial Crimes Court this week.
“Reports indicate that between November 2018 and September 2019, the accused who was a well-known employee at a butchery, took the cattle from various farmers at Klerksdorp, Potchefstroom, Hartbeesfontein and Ventersdorp to the auction house to sell them on behalf of the farmers and kept the money for himself,” said W/O Amogelang Malwetse, spokesperson.
The farmers approached the butche-ry upon realising that they were not receiving any payments for their cattle purchase and that is when they noticed that the accused misrepresented the butchery. The farmers suffered a total loss of R3 million.
“The matter was reported to the Klerksdorp-based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation which revealed that the accused unlawfully and intentionally stole and benefitted from the transactions.”
Following a series of court appearances, the accused pleaded guilty on nine counts of theft and on April 22 he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on seven counts and another ten years on two counts. The sentences will run concurrently, thus the accused will serve ten years direct imprisonment.
The North West Acting Head for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Brig Georgia Moos, and the Director of Public Prosecutions in NW, Dr Rachel Makhari, lauded the investigation and prosecution team for their relentless efforts in uprooting stock theft and ensuring that perpetrators face the full might of the law.
