Durban - A Western Cape man who set a train alight, because he gets more money when the trains are out of service, has been jailed for 20 years.
Ricardo Khan who works at the Eersterivier taxi rank, was convicted on a count of damage to essential infrastructure, in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court.
Khan set a train alight at the Eersterivier Station in March 2020, causing damage worth R3.5 million.
The projected impact to Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) as a result of the incident was R9m.
According to Eric Ntabazalila, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, it emerged during the trial that the taxi industry benefits whenever trains are put out of service.
He said the suspect was nabbed following a video of the incident.
“A Prasa official made a video of the incident and later that video was closely examined, a suspect was identified and it was the same person earlier pointed out to the law enforcement by a commuter,” he said.
Following his arrest, Khan remained behind bars until his trial commended in December 2021.
Prasa chief investigator, Jan Paul Jordaan, a veteran with a 25-year of experience, testified that Prasa falls about 70% under their budget every month due to failure to generate income due to no train availability.
“This has impacted the whole community, the Western Cape community, and people using trains as transport because trains are the cheapest mode of transport,” said Jordaan.
Herold Jacobus van Reenen, a senior protection officer at Prasa for 26 years, said since 2019, there have been four train burnings, theft of hard drives from stations, vandalism and theft of copper cables. He testified that trains are set alight, which means there is no movement of commuters and the obvious other choice is taxis.
Senior State Advocate Aradhana Heeramun argued that the financial loss sustained by Prasa is one of the factors the court must consider.
"However, the impact that these incidents have on the poor in our communities is where the real tragedy lay. Trains are the cheapest form of transport. When sets are put out of use, commuters are forced to use taxis, which are more expensive and this ultimately costs commuters more money.
"Only the taxi industry benefits when trains are put out of service. Prasa has to reimburse commuters due to sets being put out of use. The replacement of the carriages comes at exorbitant costs to the State," Heeramun said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Nicolette Bell also lauded the work of the team.
“We are pleased with this sentence. It sends a very strong message because burning trains is economic sabotage. Its impact goes far beyond the immediate satisfaction of the accused and negatively affects the country’s economy,” she said.
IOL