Car caper case postponed

A FORGERY case which began late in 2004, and has yet to see the first witness take the stand, was postponed – yet again – in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Businessman Peter Lernhord Shimi (34) will return to court on June 23, when he will have to defend himself against charges of forgery and uttering involving a blue Jetta sedan whose existence no one has been able to attest to since the charges were brought against him in 2004. It would appear that Shimi imported the vehicle, said to be worth around N$85 000, from South Africa and was granted Police clearance after successfully registering it with both the National Traffic Information System (Natis) and the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu).He implicated himself in a criminal case, however, when he later reported the vehicle stolen in South Africa.He apparently put in a claim to the Mutual and Federal Insurance Company of Namibia, saying that he had sent someone to South Africa with the vehicle to get it sold there.According to Shimi, the proposed buyers turned on his friend, held him at gunpoint and hijacked the vehicle.Mutual and Federal were unable to verify the engine number Shimi had given them with the Volkswagen’s records, and it was discovered that one of the digits on Shimi’s given engine number, a ‘6’, was originally a ‘0’ that had been tampered with.The original engine number in turn led to a white Jetta at Tsumeb, owned by a certain Mr Nolte, whose records upon investigation turned out to be legitimate.Nolte, now a State witness, was in Windhoek yesterday to take the stand, but he and five other witnesses present will have to wait until later this year to give evidence in the case against Shimi.The accused is currently out on bail.It would appear that Shimi imported the vehicle, said to be worth around N$85 000, from South Africa and was granted Police clearance after successfully registering it with both the National Traffic Information System (Natis) and the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu). He implicated himself in a criminal case, however, when he later reported the vehicle stolen in South Africa.He apparently put in a claim to the Mutual and Federal Insurance Company of Namibia, saying that he had sent someone to South Africa with the vehicle to get it sold there.According to Shimi, the proposed buyers turned on his friend, held him at gunpoint and hijacked the vehicle.Mutual and Federal were unable to verify the engine number Shimi had given them with the Volkswagen’s records, and it was discovered that one of the digits on Shimi’s given engine number, a ‘6’, was originally a ‘0’ that had been tampered with.The original engine number in turn led to a white Jetta at Tsumeb, owned by a certain Mr Nolte, whose records upon investigation turned out to be legitimate.Nolte, now a State witness, was in Windhoek yesterday to take the stand, but he and five other witnesses present will have to wait until later this year to give evidence in the case against Shimi.The accused is currently out on bail.