A slip-up by a careless fraudster has landed her in the dock‚ after she failed to match her doctor's names and practice numbers.
Eastern Cape police have arrested a 45-year-old Helenvale woman for fraud. She made a brief appearance in the Gelvandale Magistrate's Court this week.
The Department of Health opened a case with the police in February 2018‚ after suspicious sick notes handed in by two employees at a Port Elizabeth hospital were queried.
Colonel Priscilla Naidu said: "On investigating the authenticity of the notes‚ Livingstone Hospital noted the discrepancies in the notes. In one case‚ the employee 'consulted' the same doctor twice. However‚ different practice numbers were written on the notes and the signatures differed."
In the second case‚ the practice number of the "doctor" was not valid.
Investigations led police to the woman's house‚ where they confiscated 40 blank certificates and two Livingstone Hospital stamps. The blank certificates were photocopies.
The sick notes were sold for between R80-R150‚ police said.
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