British DJ fined R18 000

2008-01-09 21:08

Cape Town - A British national's holiday in Cape Town ended on Wednesday with a R18 000 fine or three years in jail on six counts of credit card fraud.

Radio disc jockey Jonathan Duncan, 26, appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court before Ingrid Freitag, who conditionally suspended the entire sentence because she did not want him doing time in prison at the expense of the South African taxpayer.

Duncan had pleaded guilty to conning three accommodation establishments, a jeweller and a cellphone business - all with the use of credit card numbers, and not credit cards as such - and trying to defraud the Camps Bay police out of R1 200.

His lawyer, Tilly Terblanche, told the court Duncan was employed in Taiwan as a disc jockey, and that his love for South Africa had led to his visit to Cape Town.

He said Duncan had been used as a "runner" by a Taiwanese friend, who had supplied him with the numbers of several stolen credit cards.

With the use of the numbers, Duncan had bought a gold ring for R10 000, four cellphones for R21 800 and had booked into three different guest houses.

At the Camps Bay police station, where the police had confiscated R700 from him, he had secretly changed the amount to R1 000 in a register.

Prosecutor Michelle Davids called for a jail sentence, and said Duncan had been motivated by greed.

She added: "Within a short period of time he created havoc and panic among holiday guest houses, who tried to minimise their losses by pre-warning one another."

She said Duncan had planned each of the six counts, and each time knew exactly what he was doing.

Freitag said Duncan was intelligent, with a good job, but had abused South African hospitality.

She added: "I hope to never see you again in this court."

- SAPA