A 32-year-old man who allegedly tried to defraud the Road of Accident Fund (RAF) of R5 million is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
Tubalomtandazo Butshingi, is accused of falsifying a claim in September 2020.
He was arrested this week and appeared in the East London Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of fraud.
The provincial Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks) said Butshingi spent the night behind bars and will appear in court on Wednesday for legal representation and a formal bail application.
Explaining the charges, Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba, said it was alleged that Butshingi was involved in a vehicle accident near Muvhango Egoli in East London on September 9, 2020.
“The accused allegedly claimed that he was a pedestrian standing on the side of the road waiting to cross when an unknown vehicle, that was reportedly coming from Mdantsane, knocked him down and did not stop,” Fumba said.
“Butshingi indicated that he sustained injuries of a fractured right ankle and was taken to hospital for treatment.”
Fumba said further allegations revealed that Butshingi lodged a claim against RAF as a result of the accident.
“The RAF reportedly conducted its internal investigation and picked up discrepancies between the accused's version as well as the hospital records before the claim was paid,” Fumba said.
“However, the claim was reportedly repudiated by RAF and the matter was reported to the Hawks for probing.”
Fumba said the investigation revealed that Butshingi had intentionally submitted a false claim to defraud RAF, where he has misrepresented the facts of what occurred during the time of the accident.
“The RAF was nearly prejudiced to an amount of over R5 million.”
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