Tall train bogus engineer gets 15 years

Former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) executive manager Daniel Mthimkhulu has been sentenced to 15 years' jail for fraud and misrepresentation of his qualifications.

- Faizel Patel

The sentence was handed down by Magistrate Philip Venter in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting in Palm Ridge yesterday.

Venter sentenced Mthimkhulu to 15 years in prison and six years each on two other counts of fraud.

The sentences will run concurrently.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Katlego Mogale said this is one of the "state capture cases that has been finalised".

NPA head Godfrey Lebeya welcomed the sentence.

"This should serve as a lesson to would-be fraudsters that crime doesn't pay." Mthimkhulu was found to have misrepresented his qualifications to Prasa.