According to the City of Johannesburg, a man who goes by the name of John Duran has been targeting food premises and conducting inspections under the pretence of being a health inspector working for the city council.
The man, who wears a nametag with the words ‘health inspector’, claims he was relocated from Durban to work for the city council due to staff shortages, and leaves behind a copy of an ID bearing the name John Duran.
He is allegedly currently operating in the Sandton and Randburg areas.
“He removes documentation from the walls including tax certificates… then writes a notice to the shopkeeper to apply for a Certificate of Acceptability and/or business license and provides application forms for it,” the city council said in a statement.
He thereafter requests payment for the application/s, payment for the processing thereof, as well payment for the certificate, licence or permit – a fraudulent document that is a duplicate, which has been adjusted.
According to the city council, Duran began operating in the inner city, where a case was opened with the police, after which he moved to Joubert Park and then to Fordsburg where he was arrested and subsequently released on bail.
According to the city council, a Certificate of Acceptability is free, while other health licences and permits must be paid for at a stipulated pay point, and not paid to the area environmental health practitioner.
The public has been advised that environmental health practitioners are issued with proper identification cards which bear the city council’s logo, a photograph of the official, and the name, identity number, employee number and designation of the official.
The identification card is only valid if the rear is signed by the executive director of health and by the official to whom it is issued.
For any information, contact Environmental Health on 011 376 8523 or 011 681 8060.
