Cape Town - A former manager has been sentenced to six years behind bars after he was convicted of fraud after selling alcohol concocted out of yeast and water and sugar.
Johannes Jacobus Brits, 55, was sentenced in the Oudshoorn Regional Court on Monday, where he faced 23 charges of fraud and two of contravention of the Liquor Act.
Brits, who worked as a manager at the Kango wines in Oudtshoorn was arrested after an investigation revealed that he had been mixing water with yeast and sugar and then sold it to the public as wine.
He also broke the seals on bottles and contravened the Liquor Act by selling the substance to the public.
He was sentenced to eight years behind bars, two of which were suspended. The State proved that he had been conducting his illegal activities since 2009.
The Hawks said they welcomed the conviction and sentence after he had bamboozled the public.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said: “Brits, who worked as a main manager at Kango wines in Oudtshoorn, was sentenced to six years direct imprisonment on all charges.
“The sentence follows an incident that took place from May to July 2009 where Brits contravened the law by mixing water with yeast and sugar and thus fermented a concoction. He mixed the concoction with wine and sold it as wine for public consumption. It is then when the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries became aware of his dubious ways and sealed the tanks containing the concoction.
“Further investigation revealed that on two occasions, Brits broke the seals and continued to sell the prohibited substance where he later claimed it was “Ale” which is not covered by the Liquor Act,” she said.
Hani said he had tried to evade his conviction and made an appeal which was not successful.
“He was convicted on September 16, 2015 after trying all the tricks in the book to delay the court and to stay out of jail, he appealed the conviction.
“His appeal was dismissed and he was sentenced. Brits was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, of which two years is suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence,” she said.
Weekend Argus