News24 reports that a Northern Cape woman who submitted a fake matric certificate to land a job as a licence testing officer at the Siyathemba Local Municipality has been sentenced to a fine of R60,000 or three years' imprisonment.

The Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Kimberley found Patricia Staffa, who is no longer employed at the municipality, guilty of fraud and forgery. She has elected to pay the fine and is expected to pay R2,500 on or before the 7th of each month. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said Staffa applied for a post at the municipality in September 2016. She misrepresented herself when submitting her CV and claimed that she had a matric certificate, which was one of the requirements of the post. The municipality appointed Staffa, and she then registered for training at the Gene Louw Traffic College to become a qualified licence testing officer. "As part of the enrolment process at the college, the accused was expected to submit a copy of her matric certificate. The accused became reluctant when she was told to submit a copy of her qualification... The accused forged or manufactured a matric certificate and later presented the fictitious certificate to the head of Gene Louw College. This submission led to an investigation into the authenticity of the accused's matric certificate," Senokoatsane indicated.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Nicole McCain at News24

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page