A NORTHERN Province technical college was systematically fleeced of almost R500 000 over the past few months without realising it.
Officials at Giyani Technical College only discovered they had been defrauded when they wanted to buy something in town on Monday and were told their bank account was overdrawn.
It appeared someone had been using a duplicate cheque book to withdraw money from the account.
Police spokesman Inspector Moatshe Ngoepe confirmed on Tuesday that a fraud case had been opened.
He said detectives were studying 90 fraudulent cheques worth R425 954 that had been processed at the bank.
“We suspect those responsible for the fraud were professionals,” he said.
Most of the withdrawals were made at the First National Bank in Giyani, where the college holds its account.
Some cheques were cashed as salary cheques and false identity documents were used in the transaction.
Provincial education spokesman Bernard Matsane said on Tuesday that he was unaware of the matter but that the department would immediately investigate.
— African Eye News Service, May 24, 2000.