US pair up for gold fraud and other brief reports...
* Two American citizens appeared in Virginia Regional Court in the Free State yesterday in connection with a multimillion-rand gold-jewellery fraud. The case against Valintino Diaz (41) and Luis Perez (55), both of Virginia in the US, was postponed and moved to neighbouring Welkom Regional Court, where they are due to appear again on May 9. The men, directors of a company called Mega Gold, were each granted bail of R500 000 at an earlier appearance in Johannesburg Magistrates Court. News24
* The Competition Tribunal will hear the intervention application by Comair in the case brought by the Competition Commission against SAA on Monday. The Tribunal said yesterday that Comair had applied to intervene in Tribunal proceedings. Business Day * Community Healthcare Holdings and Cornucopia have asked the Competition Appeal Court to review the Tribunal\'s approval last week of a deal that will see Afrox Healthcare acquired by Bidco, an empowerment grouping. I-Net Bridge * The Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons will investigate allegations of human rights abuses and possible corruption at Malmesbury Prison, said its national head of legal services yesterday. News24 * The Legal Aid Boards former chief financial officer, John Modiko, has pleaded guilty in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court to fraud involving half a million rand. The Herald * A 32-year-old man has appeared in the Ladybrand Magistrates Court on charges of raping and attempting to rape three sisters, his nieces, aged six to nine, between August and December 2004. The case was postponed until March 17 for a bail application. Iol