Clerk 'abused taxpayers' money'
16/08/2007 08:24 - (SA)


City cops 'bleed' Gordon's Bay

Probe looks at poacher tip-offs


Dries Liebenberg, Beeld


Durban - The police are investigating allegations that an administrative clerk at a KwaZulu-Natal police station used a police van for her son's hunting expedition.

At the same time an investigation is under way to determine under whose name the hunting rifle was registered that was used to shoot a R15 000 stud eland bull at a Ladysmith game farm over the long weekend.

Steyn Vermaas, the son of one of the farm shareholders said Hanlie Grundlingh, a police station clerk at Wasbank near Ladysmith, was driving a police van at the Insepe game farm last Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

On two of those days, Hanlie took a woman game-viewing and on the Sunday her son Michael, 20, went hunting for eland.

They had apparently tried to load the eland he had shot into the back of the van, but it was too large and they eventually asked a farm labourer to fetch a bakkie, Vermaas said.

One of five shareholders

The shareholders knew that Michael would be at the farm that weekend to hunt an eland that his father Christo had promised him six weeks ago, just before his death.

Vermaas said they had in fact asked that he should not shoot the stud bull, but in the end it was that buck that had been shot.

Christo Grundlingh was one of the five shareholders in the game farm.

Family guests saw Hanlie driving the police van and complained about taxpayers' money being wasted.

Vermaas said that was why he contacted Beeld about the alleged irregulaties.

"As regards the stud bull...we can always put in a claim against the estate."

Police spokesperson Shoes Magudulela said according to Captain Jan Killian of Wasbank police station, Hanlie Grundlingh had the use of the police van that particular weekend because she had been on standby duty.

Originally bought the eland

As clerk she was responsible for the store where documents were kept that had to be completed for giving food to people in detention.

Hanlie said she couldn't comment on the use of the police van, but her late former husband (they were divorced) had originally bought the eland for the farm and the herd in the interim had multiplied to more than 100.

As a shareholder he had the right to shoot two buck per year.

Before his death he had promised his son Michael one eland out of his quota of two. He had planned to keep the stud bull for an overseas client to shoot, she said.

"Something cropped up every time Christo wanted Michael to go and hunt."

She accused Vermaas, who had clashed with her in the past, of turning what was supposed to be something special into something ugly.