A Durban nurse who attempted to score on her R1m dread disease insurance cover by falsely claiming she acquired HIV while on duty, has received a five-year suspended jail sentence, reports the Sunday Tribune.
Shevon Naidoo, who works for a laboratory that services insurance companies, was unable to substantiate the July 2019 claim she made with the Old Mutual Group.
She submitted tests results of another HIV-infected person as her own and was charged with fraud. She admitted her wrongdoing and made a Section 112 guilty plea – allowing for conviction on the plea alone – when she appeared in the Durban Regional Court last week.
Naidoo, of Chatsworth, received a five-year jail sentence, which was suspended for five years, and a R10,000 fine or six months’ imprisonment. Magistrate Anand Maharaj said he considered various factors before handing down the sentence. It included the interests of society, her personal circumstances (a mother of two young children) and that she took the court into her confidence by pleading guilty and not wasting time.
Maharaj told Naidoo she would have received a term of incarceration if the matter went to trial and she was convicted.