Cape Town - A former Red Cross Children’s Hospital employee and the supplier have been sentenced to ten years behind bars, five of which were suspended after being found guilty of 24 counts of fraud and corruption worth R86 000.
Ronald Rothman Rancke was an employee at Red Cross Children’s Hospital, while Johann Willem Visser was the hospital service provider.
Zinzi Hani of the Hawks explained: “The Bellville Serious Commercial Crimes Court sentenced two alleged thieves, a former employee and a supplier, to 10 years imprisonment suspended for five years with an additional three years correctional supervision on 8 September.
“The former Red Cross employee, Ronald Rothman Rancke and the hospital service provider, Johann Willem Visser, were each found guilty on 24 counts of fraud and corruption that cost the hospital R86 000.
“The court also granted a confiscation order for an amount of R50 000, which Visser had already paid into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account (CARA). The pair were arrested in October and November 2021, respectively, by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Bellville following an investigation initiated by the Hospital Forensic Department.
“Visser stole just under R86 000 from the hospital in a corruption swindle that occurred between 2005 and 2009, perpetrated through him as a supplier to the Red Cross Hospital in Rondebosch by corrupting an employee in the procurement department to secure tender for him and his company.