A convicted fraudster who was sentenced to spend three years under house arrest and perform community service has now been sent to jail after breaching the terms of his sentence.
A convicted fraudster who was sentenced to spend three years under house arrest and perform community service has now been sent to jail after breaching the terms of his sentence.
Craig Richardson, 30, was supposed to spend the next three years under house arrest after being found guilty of stealing close to R90 000 from his previous employer. The Grahamstown Regional Court has now changed his sentence to five years imprisonment after he failed to comply with the terms and conditions of his sentence.
Three months ago the court had ordered Richardson to perform 16 hours of community service and pay R1 000 a month to his ex-employer, Slip Stream Sports Bar's owner, Leon Bezuidenhout, as compensation.
It was discovered that he failed to render community services on a number of occasions and he also didn't report the matter to the community correctional officer to make up for the lost time. Magistrate Thembela Mata said Richardson didn't offer any explanation as to why he failed to report this. “He says he lost his cellphone in December, but he did not give any evidence supporting this,” Mata said.
It also emerged in court that Richardson had only made one payment to Bezuidenhout since his conviction.
Richardson was arrested in late 2009 after he stole R88 830 from the Slip Stream Sports Bar and casino in New Street when he worked there for two months as a manager.
After sentencing him to five years imprisonment, the magistrate said Richardson has to stay in prison for at least one third of his sentence before he will be considered for parole.
