The Scorpions arrested two men, one a police inspector, in connection with Road Accident Fund (RAF) fraud on Wednesday.
The policeman, from Ekangala near Bronkhorstspruit, east of Pretoria, allegedly falsified dockets related to fund claims, the RAF said in a statement.
The other man arrested was thought to have done touting for lawyers in the Ekangala area.
”Both these suspects are linked to lawyers who have been lodging fraudulent claims.”
Gerhard Nel, head of the Scorpions in Gauteng, confirmed the arrests, saying the two men would appear in court in Ekangala shortly.
In a separate case, RAF fraud accused Dr James Chipufa of Johannesburg handed himself over through his lawyer on Wednesday morning.
Chipufa, a medical doctor, appeared in the Pretoria regional court on 48 counts of fraud, the RAF statement said. He would remain in custody until his next appearance next Wednesday.
A total of 135 people had been arrested for RAF fraud in the past few weeks.
”These arrests include lawyers, doctors, police officers, touts and bogus claimants… These arrests form part of the strategy employed by the RAF to reduce the amount of money defrauded from the fund which currently stands between R300-million and R600-million per annum,” the statement said.
”The fund would like to caution members of the public who are duped into making false claims against the fund.”
This was aimed at ensuring that those deserving the benefits of the RAF were not disadvantaged ”because of unscrupulous professionals and self-serving individuals out there”. – Sapa