Petrol card scam exposed

2008-05-20 17:19

Johannesburg - Footage from a close-circuit video camera at a Khayelitsha petrol station showed an alleged petrol card scam operated by the police, the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court heard on Tuesday.

Former police detective Constable Phumlani Antonio Qomfo appeared in court on a charge of corruption involving R29 692 before Magistrate Amrith Chabilall.

Prosecutor Sylvan Africa alleged that Qomfo, while based at Khayelitsha, corruptly supplied three staff members at the Spine Road Service Station with police petrol card numbers, between June and September 2006.

Superintendent Isaak Stassen told the court he was a captain at the Khayelitsha police station when he discovered the alleged scam.

Stassen said that he was the vehicle fleet manager and had control over the police vehicles used by the uniformed and detective branches at Khayelitsha.

In September 2006, he checked the fuel statements of a particular vehicle used by the detective branch, and noticed that while the tank capacity was only 49 litres, the vehicle had taken 60 litres on two occasions.

Stassen said he went to the petrol station to discuss the discrepancies with the proprietor, who produced the relevant fuel slips to him.

Stassen told the court: "There were signatures on the slips, but the signatures were not those of any of the detectives at Khayelitsha.

"Nor did the signed slips reflect the staff number or rank of the police official who had filled up with petrol."

A further discrepancy was that the transactions in question had been done manually, using the petrol card's number but without "swiping" in the petrol card, he said.

Stassen said he was then shown the close-circuit video footage taken of the transactions in question.

The footage showed a taxi filling up, and a woman petrol attendant taking the required money from the driver, and pocketing the money instead of handing it to the cashier.

The case continues.

- SAPA