PORT ELIZABETH - PE ADVOCATE FOUND GUILTY OF STEALING R95 000 FROM CLIENT'S TRUST ACCOUNT

A Port Elizabeth advocate, Pumla Silinga, has been sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, with two years suspended, for theft in the city's Commercial Crimes Court.

A sobbing Silinga was immediately shackled in the passage leading to the court's holding cells, from where she was later taken to prison following Friday's sentencing.

Silinga, who is the wife of Coega Development Corporation CEO Pepi Silinga, was re-arrested in April 2016 after being on the run for two years, following her initial arrest in 2013. Her husband was not present in court on Friday.

The 47-year-old Silinga went on the run after being released on warning, and failed to pitch for her trial in 2014. During the time while she was on the run, she was appointed as an acting magistrate in Mthatha.

Magistrate Johannes Claasen found her guilty of stealing R95,000 from a client's trust account in 2007, when she was a director of Silinga Attorneys.

Advocate Motsamai Marele, for the defence, asked the court to hand down a lenient sentence, stating that she had shown remorse by paying back some of the money back.

Marele also indicated that Silinga tried to apologise to the client, and that she was a first time offender.

Bongo Mvinjelwa, for the State, said Silinga disrespected the process of the court by becoming a fugitive of justice.

Claassen said two years of her sentence would be suspended for five years on condition that she is not found guilty of similar crime.

VIA - algoafm.co.za