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An Eastern Cape businessman has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars for illegally circumventing Eskom power supply to a block of flats he owns in Mount Frere.
The Mount Frere Regional Court sentenced 34-year-old Sandile Andres Ntombela on Tuesday.
Ntombela and his business entity, Zamdela Pty Ltd, were convicted of theft and fraud.
The Hawks said in a statement that it proved that Ntombela was responsible for illegal power connections since 2018 at the flats he owned in Badisana in Mount Frere.
He continuously tampered with the power utility’s infrastructure. As a result, Eskom lost more than R178,000, Hawks spokesperson Captain Yoliswa Mgolodela said.
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The Hawks arrested Ntombela in July 2019 and he later made a series of court appearances after he was released on R10 000 bail.
The court eventually convicted him and sentenced him to 12 years for one charge and eight years for the other.
The sentences will run concurrently which means that he has to serve an effective 12 years jail.
His business was fined R20 000, said Mgolodela.
News24 Wire
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