By: Kelvin Chiringa
Frustrated and emotionally torn down by the thought of having to be possibly shut in prison, a woman accused of defrauding her employer out of N$17 million attempted to take her life over the weekend by overdosing on pills.
Stephanie Serfontein (50) was scheduled to plead guilty to multiple counts of fraud and money laundering this week Tuesday in the Windhoek High Court.
But her case came to a grinding halt when she failed to show up while authorities reacted by sending an investigative officer to go check on her at her son-in-law’s Olympia house.
Serfontein is said to have defrauded her former employer, mining drilling contractor Ferrodrill Namibia, while she was employed with the company as an accountant.
Although the fraud is said to have been committed back in 2008 and later in 2012, the case against Serfontein is that she allegedly stole money from the company’s account, and channelled funds into the account of her 48-year-old then husband Izak Serfontein.
Another amount was allegedly channelled into an account of her child and into her own account.
The investigating officer who visited her this week, inspector Emily Prada said the accused had indicated that the trial had emotionally affected her.
Although she had willingly chosen to give herself in the hands of the judge by pleading guilty despite her ex-husband refusing to do so, she panicked at the thought of being sent to jail.
“She said the case hit me so hard, I was afraid I might be sentenced, and I decided I can’t do it anymore,” inspector Prada told the judge.
She also disclosed that she was not bound to bed by the time she saw her and that she had even offered her tea and did not show any signs of physical distress.
Serfontein was arrested back in 2012 and was put under police custody before she got bailed out.
By 2015, her matter was removed from the court roll to allow for deeper investigations which dragged the whole case for a long time.
The state prosecutor also confirmed that Serfontein was not admitted in hospital but was irked by the fact that she was being monitored by an “educational psychologist”.
“I don’t know if she (psychologist) is the best qualified if she (Serfontein) has suicidal tendencies,” said the lawyer.
Her children are also said to be taken care of her.
The judge also took issue with a doctor’s report which stipulated that the accused was in no physical state to appear for trial.
Her lawyer, Louis Botes asked to be given a seven-day postponement to which the judge retorted, “What if she attempts to commit suicide again?”
Said Botes, “There is no assurance in life my Lord. She will be safe in custody and she will come to court and present her case.”
