Travel scam couple jailed for 10 years

SOME of the victims who were duped by two travel scamsters are pleased they are paying for their crimes.

Megasen Roland Chetty, 38, and Sarasvathi Belinda Pillay, 47, were given 10 years of imprisonment on 18 charges of fraud in the Durban Regional Court on Friday.

They defrauded several victims of their money, amounting to R1.2 million.

Chetty and Pillay posed as travel agents and promised the victims discounted holidays abroad and locally.

They won the trust of victims and then used them as referrals.

The couple were arrested in May last year after Detective Constable Justin Durugiah, of the Provincial Commercial Crime Investigations, linked them to fraud cases in Chatsworth, Phoenix, Malvern, Town Hill, Tongaat, Wentworth, Westville and Durban Central.

They pleaded guilty to all counts in September last year.

Desmond Govenden, who lost R380 000, said: “We will never get our money back, but I’m glad they are finally behind bars and are paying for their crimes.”

Govenden was defrauded in 2018. He said a cousin referred him to them.

Govenden paid for a trip to the US for him and about 20 others, whom he collected money from and handed over to the accused. When he tried to call them, their phones rang unanswered.

Another victim, who declined to be named, said she was duped out of about R60 000.

She said her mom’s friend, who had travelled with Pillay’s help before, had introduced them to her. The victim subsequently travelled to New York, where Pillay assisted with accommodation.

She was then scheduled to travel to Mauritius from Joburg with her mother, cousin and three elderly relatives. They were issued with their tickets two days prior to their departure.

She said a connecting flight from Durban to Johannesburg was not booked, so they ended up travelling to Joburg by taxi.

They then had to take a connecting flight to Kenya, where they stayed overnight at a one-star lodge.

“When we arrived at the five-star resort in Mauritius, the front desk did not have our reservation. I called Belinda, who in turn called the resort. She made a booking, but she did not pay for it. So we stayed at the resort and said our agent would secure payment.

“Since it was a five-star resort, they did not kick us out on the first night. By the fourth day, the manager told us that payment was not made and that we had to leave.”

She and her cousin used their credit cards and savings to pay what was owed to the resort. “Going forward, I will take every precaution when booking a holiday.”

Detective-Constable Durugiah said he received the first docket in 2018.

“I completed the investigations and received another docket involving the same suspects. I then requested dockets from all the police stations. Dockets came in yearly.”

He said he ended up with about 100 complainants and 18 case dockets.