A former employee of the Connie Mulder Centre, Santa van der Linde, has pleaded guilty to 13 counts of theft on 20 February at the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court.
This after she stole a large amount of money from the centre while she was employed there.
Uys explains that the centre makes concrete items and then sells it to the public.
“It was Van der Linde’s work to issue a receipt as well as a gate pass to the buyer in order for the buyer to take these concrete items off the premises,” says Uys.
“However, Van der Linde issued gate pass for each item but did not issue any receipts.”
“After a period of time, we started to notice that there are more items leaving the premises than what is paid for and started to investigate.”
According to Uys, the Connie Mulder Centre could prove that R120 000 worth of receipts are missing and that Van der Linde received these payments but did not transfer it into the centre’s account.
Van der Linde received an eight year prison sentence, which is suspended for five years.
She was also instructed to pay back the total of R120 000 to the Connie Mulder Centre over a specific period of time.
“I was earmarked as the primary witness against Van der Linde.
“The state prosecutor summed it up beautifully when she remarked that Van der Linde only decided to plead guilty when she realized that the evidence against her was overwhelming,” says Uys.
The management of the centre is happy with the conclusion of this case, and voiced their disgust over the fact that this crime was effectively committed against people with disabilities.
The Connie Mulder Centre would like to thank all the role players in this case, as all of them insured that Van der Linde pays for her crimes.
