Mamre man sentenced to five years for hoax bomb threat

A 50-year-old Mamre man has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for making a hoax bomb threat last year.

The Bellville Regional Court has sentenced Ferdinand Fortuin to five years' direct imprisonment after he contacted the police, 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. "The accused made these threats following heavy drinking on Sunday, 10 November 2024, and decided that he did not want to go to work on Monday, 11 November 2024. 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," the National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement. 

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.

Substantial state resources were deployed following the hoax call and thousands of people were evacuated 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. He 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 court 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. It therefore deviated from the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment for the offence.

"The NPA accepts the sentence of the court and warns that anyone who makes such threats will face tough consequences. The NPA will not hesitate to prosecute conduct of this nature to the full extent that the law allows," NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said.

Weekend Argus