EX-BURSAR JAILED FOR R2.3m FRAUD
East London court grants Laity’s legal team leave to appeal sentence
Former Cambridge High School assistant bursar Merle Laity was on Thursday sentenced by the East London regional court to six years in prison for stealing R2.3m from the school.
Regional court magistrate Deon Rossouw told Laity, 56, that two of the six years would be suspended if she paid back R625,000 to the school.
Laity, who was earlier this year found guilty by Rossouw of eight counts of theft and one of fraud, was also sentenced to a 12 months imprisonment for the fraud conviction. The sentences will run concurrently.
The theft of over R2.3m took place over a period of five years.
The crime was first exposed in 2009 when the school, according to a recent court testimony of former headmaster Grassy Buitendag, struggled to pay staff salaries and its creditors – a situation which forced them to consider investigating the possibility of making shortterm bridging loans.
Former school bursar Maria “Gerda” de Wet, who stole almost R3m was sentenced to years behind bars.
Rossouw said Laity had planned the theft very meticulously and covered her tracks very well.
“You must have known that De Wet was stealing but you did not stop that but allowed it by turning a blind eye to such criminal activities. All you did was to join in, in the looting of such school funds.
“People employ each other because they trust that person. What you did was to abuse the position of trust placed on you by the headmaster,” said Rossouw.
He said Laity’s crime was very serious and that it would be in the interest of justice to send her directly to prison to deter other would-be fraudsters.
Rossouw said the evidence against Laity, who was shaky and teary during proceedings, was overwhelming and that it did not warrant a fine or a suspended sentence.
Laity’s lawyer, advocate Johan Bester immediately applied for leave to appeal her conviction and sentence.
Bester said this was because, among others, the court had erred in concluding that the state prosecutor Clint Jacobs had proven beyond reasonable doubt the state’s case against Laity.
Rossouw, however, shot down the attempts to appeal the conviction, saying he did not believe that any other court would come to a different conclusion. He, however, granted them leave to appeal the sentence, which should take place within six weeks.
Rossouw found Laity guilty of, among other charges:
● Stealing R132,000 received from the school’s PTA fundraising efforts;
● Stealing R312,195 paid by pupils for school blazers, badges, school camps and other items;
● Theft of R178,000 the school received for pupils’ photographs;
● Theft of R5,000 the school received for a matric dance; and
● Theft of R3,360.
What you did was to abuse the position of trust placed on you