Mercedes dispute back in court
AN ONGOING spat between a convicted fraudster and a metro cop has landed in court again over the mystery of a missing Mercedes-benz vehicle worth R800 000.
Visham Panday, who was first arrested in December 2011 after being on the run for several months, was convicted of fraud after posing as a doctor offering women lucrative jobs with his so-called company in the US and persuaded them to invest their life savings. He swindled more than R450 000 out of them.
Now Panday brought an application in the Durban High Court against the ethekwini Municipality, metro police head Eugene Nzama and a state prosecutor last week, asking why they had not suspended the cop, despite criminal charges instituted against him.
He also called for the prosecutor to be changed because of alleged links to Captain Marcus Moodly and his wife Shireen.
Last year, Panday offered a R200 000 reward for the car which he claimed was stolen by Moodly after he said he parked it at his Phoenix property in May. The car belonged to Panday’s late ex-wife. Panday is executor of her estate.
He also provided incorrect registration details and phone numbers in an advert for the reward last year.
Despite the application, metro police is having none of his allegations. Spokesperson Superintendent Sbonelo Mchunu said Panday was trying to abuse the courts and law.
“I have never heard of someone going to court to have an employee suspended. There’s nothing we can do about this case if it is personal. Metro police has no authority to intervene into the private lives of its employees.
“Panday clearly has his own agendas which he thinks he can abuse the court for,” said Mchunu.
Panday claimed he became friends with Moodly and his wife via Facebook with the intention of becoming business associates and brokering a deal to sell diesel last year. He spent time with them and on one occasion, parked the vehicle on his property.
He claimed he handed the keys over to Moodly to park at his friend’s house due to space constraints and the vehicle had been missing since.
He opened a criminal case two months later. But Moodly claimed Panday was nothing but a “conman” who used the courts as a means of threatening people.
He claimed Panday was desperate for a place to stay and did not even have clothing to wear when he first met him, so out of the “goodness of his heart” he provided shelter.
“He befriended my wife on Facebook and that’s how we became friends. We felt sorry for him and knew that he had a reputation for being a convicted fraudster but the Christian in us made us look past that. We even took him to our pastor to pray for him. This man has a reputation for approaching the court for just about anything and his attempts always prove to be fruitless.
“He only lodged a criminal case two months after the car went missing. If he was so concerned about his expensive car, he would have lodged a case immediately,” said Moodly.
Panday obtained an interdict against Moodly last year but the application was dismissed with costs.
“The man is destitute and broke. Even though the application was dismissed with costs, we can’t even get any money back from him because he has no money,” said Moodly.