The former principal of a school in Cape Town has entered a guilty plea for fraud charges brought against him and has received a three-year sentence of correctional supervision.
Clifford Chateau (65) has been found guilty of defrauding Duneside Primary School in Mitchells Plain of close to R100 000.
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According to Zinzi Hani, the spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), the former principal committed this fraud in June 2017, IOL reports.
Chateau’s sentence has been suspended for a five-year period, with him serving three years of correctional supervision under the provisions of Section 276(1)(h) of Act 51 of 1977.
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Hani reported that the school, where Chateau served as the headmaster, had plans for construction work. It was Chateau’s own company, CBS, that submitted a quotation for this project under his direction.
The headmaster further submitted other fraudulent quotations to the school’s governing body (SGB).
Relying on the accused’s recommendations, the SGB appointed CBS to undertake the construction work. Subsequently, Chateau submitted invoices on behalf of CBS to the SGB for approval, and cheques were issued to CBS as payment.
CBS then cashed these cheques and deposited the funds into the principal’s personal bank account.
‘During the period of June 2017 to August 2017, the school paid CBS a total amount of R95 730, and the headmaster received a total of R36 400 in cash payments into his bank account,’ Hani reported.
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