KZN court hands 12-year sentence to former Prasa employee
Passenger rail agency Prasa has welcomed the 12-year sentence handed down to its former employee for stealing cables.
Siphiwe Mngadi was found guilty of tampering with key infrastructure by the Scottburgh Regional Court.
He and his accomplice were caught by two Prasa security guards who were on patrol at a rail reserve in Mkhomazi in KZN in April 2018.
They were found in possession of 12 rolls of copper weighing nearly 198KG and said to be worth R1 million.
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"Though the sentence is below the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment, it does send a strong message to some of our rogue employees who think they can continue stealing critical rail infrastructure unabated with no consequences," says Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda.
"Indeed, the tide is turning against cable theft. To date, 454 suspects have been arrested for vandalism and theft, a total of 118 court cases have been finalised amounting to a combined 764 years imprisonment."
