Fugitive from SA working as teacher in UK

A FUGITIVE Briton wanted in connection with a £1.5-million (R25m) fraud in South Africa, has been found working as a teacher in the UK – after the police were tipped off by a pupil.

Broker Mike Hale, 63, vanished from Pietermaritzburg four years ago after the money went missing from his insurance firm.

South African authorities put out a search warrant and contacted Interpol in an attempt to track him down.

But Hale, a former captain of the Great Britain water polo team, arrived back in the UK and passed background checks to become a supply teacher in Cornwall.

The ex-sportsman went undetected for years, but was exposed when a pupil read about his case on Facebook and recognised him. The 13-year-old girl posted details of her detective work online, along with a picture she took of Hale – and soon more pupils came forward to confirm the sighting.

Among them was former Falmouth School pupil Daniel Templeton, who was taught physical education by Hale 18 months ago.

He wrote: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s really him’. I just find it ridiculous that somebody can become a teacher after that. Surely he must have gone through the system?”

South African authorities are now waiting to extradite Hale, who is no longer working as a teacher after Penryn College and Falmouth School informed the police about the developments.

The alleged conman skipped South Africa in 2009 after the money went missing from the accounts of his company, MJCM Insurance Brokers, in Pietermaritzburg. – Daily Mail

Mike Hale