Sickly fund coughs up R500000 for doctor

THE Road Accident Fund has returned more than R500000 to a Durban doctor - five years after he pleaded guilty to swindling them.

Now the cash-strapped fund is fighting a further claim from Dr Devandra Perumal for interest on the amount, which was just over half of a R1-million fine he was initially ordered to pay.

In what was then touted as the first conviction for the fund in a racketeering case, Perumal struck a plea deal with the state in December 2006.

He pleaded guilty in the Durban Regional Court to 207 counts of fraud and one charge of racketeering involving R3.7-million.

To avoid a jail term, Perumal agreed to pay the fine, staggered over six years. A total of R523424.19 was paid to the accident fund and the remainder was meant to be split between Arrive Alive and the clerk of the court.

Magistrate Moon Lalbahadur was quoted at the time as having said: "The legislature views this offence in a very serious light ... I hope this sends a message that those who are convicted are not going to get away."

But in April Perumal went to the High Court in Pietermaritzburg and had his conviction and sentence set aside on a technicality.

The road accident fund said this week the plea deal between Perumal and the state had, in Judge Mohini Murugesan's words, been tainted by "gross irregularity".

Spokeswoman Connie Nel said the fund only found out about the court challenge when Perumal's lawyers slapped it with a demand to repay their portion of his fine.

The fund complied - but then received another demand for the interest. Said Nel: "The fund is opposing this claim."

Nel said the original charges stemmed from allegations that Perumal had completed medical reports for fund claimants who had not been involved in accidents.

On Friday Perumal said he had signed fund documents for between R60 and R80 a patient. But he denied intentionally cheating the fund, saying he was unfamiliar with the process. "I had no intention to promote the fabrication of ailments ... (but) I can see where the negligence was."