An illegal foreign currency dealer who duped a Bulawayo woman of R4 100 in a foreign currency exchange deal and disappeared after the transaction ran out of luck recently after her victim positively identified her by her scarred face and immediately informed the police.
The con artist, Happiness Ndlovu, was yesterday jailed for an effective eight months in jail for fraud when she appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Merylin Mtshina.
Initially, Ndlovu (33) was sentenced to 18 months in prison before 10 months of her sentence were suspended on condition she paid restitution to the complainant.
In her defence, Ndlovu denied conducting the transaction with the complainant, Innocent Sibindi, claiming she was out of town on the day in question.
However, her case suffered a blow after Mtshina ruled that the witnesses were credible as they correctly managed to identify her through her physical features.
“In case the incident is alleged to have occurred in the morning and the complainant stated the incident took place for about 10 minutes.
“The two State witnesses stated that they identified the accused by the scar on the left side of her face, that she is dark in complexion, short, fat and has short hair.
“The court concludes that the State indeed proved its case beyond reasonable doubt,” ruled Mtshina.
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Admire Chikwai for the State told the court that on April 18 this year, Ndlovu together with her accomplices approached Sibindi who wanted to exchange her South African rands into United States dollars.
The court heard Ndlovu and her accomplices disappeared with Sibindi’s money before completing the transaction, prompting Sibindi to report the matter to the police.
