A 50-year-old Western Cape man who made a hoax call to police telling them that he planted bombs at various places so he could skip work has been sentenced to an effective five years in jail. 

Ferdinand Fortuin was sentenced in the Bellville Regional Court after he pleaded guilty to the crime. 

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Fortuin contacted police in November 2024, telling them that he had planted bombs at the Department of Water and Sanitation, Transnet Offices, and the Bellville taxi rank.

“He gave police hours to evacuate the premises,” explained NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila. 

He said Fortuin made these threats on November 11, 2024, after a night of heavy drinking because he didn’t want to go to work.

“He left his home in Mamre with the hope that the roads leading to Bellville would be closed because of his bomb threats.

“They were not, and he worked the whole day.”

According to the NPA in his plea and sentencing agreement, Fortuin confessed that he bought a cellphone from a drug user, which he used to make hoax calls to the police and a toll-free emergency number regarding the placement of explosive devices in the buildings, of which one was where he worked.

His actions resulted in the deployment of substantial state resources and the evacuation of thousands of people from the three sites.

“At the Water and Sanitation Department offices on Voortrekker Road, police assisted by three bomb disposal technicians, the K-9 Dog Unit, using explosive detection canines, and visible policing unit members evacuated 164 people.

“Meanwhile, 151 people were evacuated from the department’s Bellville South offices. Police, assisted by the same units, evacuated 250 people from the Transnet Park Building offices, and 3,000 people were evacuated from the taxi rank.

“The taxi rank was closed, and roads leading to and out of the taxi rank were closed, resulting in huge panic in the area.”

Fortuin was arrested and charged with four counts of contravention of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorism and Related Activities Act 33 of 2004 (POCDATARA) and for contravention of the Explosives Act 26 of 1956.

The NPA said the prescribed minimum sentence is 15 years’ direct imprisonment unless the court finds substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed sentence.

However, the court deviated from this after they found that Fortuin was a first offender, he had pleaded guilty, had strong personal circumstances, had shown remorse, and his acknowledgement of guilt made him a good candidate for a rehabilitative sentence. 

IOL News 

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