The Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court has slapped five men, convicted for the possession of abalone species worth millions of rands, with the option of either serving a prison sentence or paying a fine. The accused are Jinghuan Zhen (39, Chinese), David Mbewu (35, Malawian), Thabiso Johannes Khaile (40, Lesotho), and South Africans Marvin Fazel Kekana (44) and Randy Alfred Mapoe (38).
The men were sentenced on Monday (24/07), concluding the trial that followed their arrest on 22 December 2021, in Bayswater, Bloemfontein.
The sentencing is the culmination of the investigation by the police in Bloemfontein. A joint team that includes the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team, Tactical Response Team (TRT), K9 unit, and Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) based in Bloemfontein pounced on them, acting on reliable information received.
Christopher Singo, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said the court gave tomorrow X Friday (28/07) X as the deadline for all the accused to pay fines, failing which they will serve four years’ direct imprisonment. He said the men must pay a fine of R10 000 each, with Chinese national Zhen slapped with a harsher sentence.
“Zhen was sentenced to a fine of R100 000, of which R90 000 is suspended for five years,” said Singo. He said Clareece Genevieve, who was arrested together with the five men, was acquitted.
Singo said the wet and dry abalone, estimated to carry a street value of R10 million, was discovered during a raid in a house in Olympus Drive in Bayswater, an upmarket suburb in Bloemfontein.
