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Brenda Zinyuke, Court Reporter
TWO petrol attendants from Bulawayo have been arrested for allegedly defrauding Engen Garage of more than RGTS$100 000.
Modify Makoni (34) of Dian Court, 15th Avenue in the CBD and George Manasidze (30) of Sauerstown suburb allegedly duped Engen Petroleum Garage in Bulawayo represented by Mr Aylwin Moyo.
The duo, through their lawyer, Mr Tinashe Runganga of Tanaka Law Chambers, pleaded not guilty to 175 counts of fraud when they appeared before Bulawayo magistrate, Mr Tinashe Tashaya.
The magistrate remanded them out of custody on $100 bail each to October 4. The court heard that Makoni and Manasidze would duplicate receipts after customers had paid for fuel and use them to get fuel from other Engen garages.
Prosecuting, Ms Memory Matare said sometime between March 10 and May 27 this year, Makoni and Manasidze conducted swipe transactions using their bank cards in exchange for cash from customers.
“The accused persons went on to make reprints of the merchant copies which they used to collect fuel of varying amounts,” she said.
The offence came to light when Mr Moyo obtained a bank statement and discovered that the receipts which had been submitted for reconciliation and the bank postings were not balancing.
Investigations into the matter were carried out and Makoni and Manasidze’s bank cards were linked to the offence.
This led to their arrest. — @zinyuke98
Online Reporter