Former Hawks security guard found guilty of falsifying matric certificate

A former Hawks security guard has been fined R5,000 by the Bellville magistrate's court after it was established she submitted a fake matric certificate for employment. 

Phelisa Lande, 45, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud. 

A warrant of arrest was issued for Lande on August 8 last year by the Hawks' serious commercial crime investigation team in Bellville for falsifying her qualifications.

Lande first appeared in court on August 10 2022 and was released on R1,000 bail. 

Hawks spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale said in October 2021 the Hawks advertised for a security official in its Bellville office in the Western Cape. When she applied for the position, Lande submitted a fraudulent matric certificate. 

“As a result, the accused was appointed as a security official in the Bellville office where she occupied the post on April 1 2022. Upon noticing the suspicious certificate, the Hawks vetted the qualifications with the department of education. 

“It was during this process that the alleged fraud was discovered and further investigation revealed that the accused submitted the same qualification for her previous employment where she was employed as a security officer.”

The Hawks' provincial head for the Western Cape, Maj-Gen Mathipa Makgato, commended the team for their meticulous investigation that led to the sentence, saying: “I hope this conviction will serve as a warning to others who will attempt to commit similar crimes.”

Meanwhile on Thursday the Hawks' serious organised crime team in Pretoria arrested four suspects aged 29, 33, 37 and 44 for theft and possession of suspected stolen motor vehicle parts worth an estimated R1.1m.

The Hawks received information from the Ford Motor Vehicle Company of South Africa (FMCSA) about the possible theft of engines. Following up on the information, it was established that the theft allegedly occurred at FMCSA premises. A truck from a courier company was used to load racks with about 36 engines.

“After the truck was loaded, it exited the premises without following proper procedures and later went to offload at Charles Leyds Street in Eersterus on the instructions to the driver by the forklift instructor. The racks and forklift were found at the drop-off address without the engines. Two elderly people found in the premises explained that they did not know about the cargo.”

Four suspects — two FMCSA security personnel, a mechanical repair shop owner and the truck driver — were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property. They will appear in the Pretoria magistrate's court on Monday.

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