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The state argues that multimillion-rand fraudster Hildegard Steenkamp deserves to be imprisoned for 25 years for living a lavish and deceitful life, as well as to instil faith in the criminal justice system.

The state further argued that if she were truly sorry, she wouldn’t have waited five years to plead guilty, nor chosen a “life of opulence”. Sitting in the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge, on Monday, they plead for Steenkamp to get no less than 25 years in jail for stealing more than R500 million from her previous employer, reported News24.

In April this year, the fraudster pleaded guilty to 336 charges related to the theft of R537 million from Medtronic (Pty) Ltd, where she was employed as an accountant.

The court heard how Steenkamp was driven by greed when she stole the money from her employer, and it must dismiss her allegations that her late abusive husband forced her to steal.

The Prosecutor advocate Tilas Chabalala argued that Steenkamp’s years of theft were not spur-of-the-moment decisions but thoroughly planned and well-executed. Thus, they argue, that her sentence should reflect two streams of justice in South Africa; one for those who caused huge financial losses and committed white-collar crimes and the other for those who committed violent crimes.

“She had enough time to reflect on what she was doing, but she chose to live a life of luxury at the expense of her former employer. This is not a case where a person acted on the spur of the moment. There was thorough planning and meticulous execution of the plans. The fact that the accused planned the crimes is an aggravating factor which the court should consider,” Chabalala said.

Chabalala also told the court to dismiss her claim that she was a victim of abuse by her late husband Mathys:

“There is no evidence to support her allegation that her late husband forced her to commit the thefts. There is ample evidence to prove that the accused and her family lived a life of opulence,” Chabalala told the court.

He added that the way in which the stolen money was spent shows the accused was not forced by anyone to commit the thefts.

“The amounts spent on gambling, immovable properties, movable properties, and overseas trips prove that the accused and her family lived a lavish lifestyle”.

He reckons it was not remorse that made her plead guilty to the charges, but that she saw the State had a strong case against her.

“It should be noted that the accused was arrested in December 2017. If the accused was truly remorseful, she would not have waited more than five years to plead guilty to the charges,” Chabalala said.

Steenkamp stole R537 million through 336 transactions, with R6.7 million being the highest and last amount she stole in a single transaction. Her legal counsel, advocate Francois Roets, said he “struggled for months to fathom how it was possible for more than nine years, while there was reconciliation of accounts every month and an audit at the end of each year, and nothing was picked up by any of these processes”.

“It defies my logic. I cannot understand,” he said.

Roets argued that Steenkamp’s previous employer was a multinational company, and was not severely prejudiced by her theft, while the government would make a loss if they imprisoned her.

“More than R132 000 to house a single prisoner. The average cost of educating a child is less than one-quarter of that amount because it’s about R33 000,” he said.

Chabalala disagrees, saying the loss to the company was devastating, however, and that it was a miracle that Medtronic (Pty) Ltd did not close shop and retrench its employees.

Steenkamp sentencing should be passed on December 8.

[source:news24]