Charlene Singh appeared in court where she was sentenced to 15 years in prison
Charlene Singh pleaded guilty to conning 30 pensioners and robbing them of an accumulative R600 000 in the Durban Regional Court this week, Public Eye Maritzburg reports.
Additional charges she pleaded guilty to included being in possession of cocaine and attempting to escape from custody.
Singh used a guise of being able to heal through massage therapy with a special healing magnet and targeted elderly residents managing to rob them of R600 000 in the process.
She singled out her drug addiction as her main reason behind the fraud that she committed with the aid of her friend and ex-boyfriend.
She said in her plea that she gained the trust of her victims by offering free massages through the use of innovative new healing methods with a magnet that required them to remove their jewellery as it got in the way of the healing process. After the victims removed their jewellery she would then make an excuse that the pain relief ointment that she needed to apply on them was in the car and rush off but never return.
Hawks policeman Captain Jageesh Devnarain Singh, from the Pietermaritzburg Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, said that he was alerted after numerous cases of similar nature were reported at various police stations. Singh’s victims included pensioners in Mountain Rise, Northdale, Prestbury, Townhill, Mooi River, Ladysmith, Durban, Sydenham, Phoenix, Chatsworth and Shallcross.
Many victims took to Facebook to share their experiences, warning the public to stay vigilant if ever confronted by the woman, which led to more than 30 cases being opened all leading to the same person.
Captain Singh managed to find Singh when he was called by Durban Point police who pointed him in the direction of a couple who had been charged for cocaine possession. He tracked her down to Westville Prison, where he formally charged her.
READ MORE: How murder accused Sandile Mantsoe conned people out of millions
Singh was sentenced to 15 years and six months in jail by Magistrate Fariedha Mohamed after pleading guilty, thus allowing her to receive a lighter sentence.
“If she didn’t plead guilty she would have received a much longer sentence,” said Singh.
Singh warned people, especially the elderly, not to be trusting of people they do not know regardless of how convincing they can be.
“I urge the elderly to especially be alert to free services and offers in the comfort of your home. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” said Singh.
Singh’s former mother-in-law Rahena Khan said she felt Singh got a “raw deal”.
“My heart is sore for her, and I don’t believe her sentence is fair as there are far worse people out there who get away with lighter sentences. She is a lovely mother and daughter-in-law,” said Khan,
Pinetown pensioner Ann Preen, who was one of Singh’s victims, on the other hand, was happy that Singh had been sentenced to 15 years and hoped she would use the time behind bars to reflect on what she had done and come out a changed woman.
Preen added that she did not know how Singh got onto her property but that once she knocked on her door she presented herself very formally and explained her credentials which persuaded her to allow Singh to enter.
“While I was on my back she said she was going to get a pen and page and left. By the time I realised that something was wrong it was too late as she had made off with all my valuables,” said Preen.
Singh is also suspected of being the burqa-clad con-woman who robbed hospital patients of their cellphones and belongings throughout KwaZulu Natal.
Police said that she was not prosecuted on that matter, as most of the patients had been “sedated and groggy” when their items were stolen and her identity had not been established due to the use of the burqa.
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– Caxton News Service
