The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) reported on Thursday that the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court had dropped charges against Ms Mapitse Tebogo Bopape, who had been accused of defrauding the Department of Labour’s Compensation Fund.  

The case had been dragging on since last year while the state was waiting for the finalisation of the docket and the decision of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to prosecute.  The stand-in prosecutor requested another postponement on the basis that the directorate had not yet made a decision regarding the matter.  But the magistrate said it had been delayed for far too long and, after conducting an enquiry, she struck the matter off the roll.  Bopape (33), an orthotist in private practice from Hammanskraal, was alleged to have defrauded the department’s Compensation Fund of R46,500-00.  She had not yet pleaded.  The Compensation Fund is a public entity under the administration of the Department of Labour.  The fund’s mandate is to administer the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.

• Read the full original of the department’s press statement on this matter at DEL News

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page