Port Elizabeth man gets eight years for insurance fraud

Convicted arsonist Stuart McLeod was sentenced to an effective eight years in prison by the Port Elizabeth commercial crimes court on Thursday.

The 57-year-old man previously called out by the magistrate for his demeanor in court, smirked as the sentence was imposed.

McLeod, the owner of Embroiderite at the time, had set fire to machinery at the Newton Park business and then attempted to claim about R6m from Mutual and Federal insurance company in March 2015.

Just moments later on Thursday, he was dealt another blow when his application for leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence was dismissed.