THE case against a former attorney accused of stealing about R700 000 from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) claimants has been postponed.
On Friday, 14 October, the Rustenburg Regional Court in the North West postponed the case against Betty Diale (52) to 4 November due to her ill health.
Diale is facing six charges of theft.
She’s a member of the EFF and represents the party in the North West provincial legislature.
Diale’s defence attorney provided the court with a medical certificate.
A warrant of arrest was issued against her, but will be withheld until the next court date. Failure to appear in court will result in her arrest.
You need to be SIGNED IN to read comments
The National Prosecuting Authority’s regional spokesman, Henry Mamothame, said the state was ready to proceed with the motion to set a pre-trial date., but did not oppose the postponement.
Mamothame said police reports revealed that Fidelity Fund, a body that oversees the conduct of attorneys, got several complaints from RAF claimants whose payments were deposited into Diale’s trust account but were never paid to them. and they reported the matter to the police for investigation.
During the alleged commission of the crimes, between 2009 and 2011, Diale was practising as an attorney.
She was charged with six counts of theft in June last year, and the Legal Practice Council struck her off the roll.
