A perlemoen poacher and ex-TV show singing contestant who was so afraid of prison that he tried to skip his trial, saw his nightmare become reality on Thursday when he was jailed for three years – and had to forfeit his R45,000 bail for absconding.
Former SABC Superstars reality show top 10 finalist Jan “Danie” Prinsloo, 31, sobbed in the Port Elizabeth High Court as he learnt that he would be sent to prison along with his former boss Morne Blignault and stepbrother Jacob “Japie” Naumann following their conviction on charges linked to the running of an illegal perlemoen enterprise.
Blignault, 47, who ran the multimillion-rand poaching business, had begged for mercy with his Legal Aid-appointed defence counsel, advocate Elsabet Theron, claiming a further severe sentence would be unfair and would break him.
But pleas by Blignault and Theron for a sentence to run wholly concurrently with the 20 years he is already serving, fell on deaf ears, with judge Glenn Goosen handing him another 20-year sentence, of which 15 years will run concurrently with the first.
“I have no intention or desire to apply a sledgehammer [to the sentence],” Goosen said.
Blignault, his son Morne jnr, 27, Naumann, 35, Prinsloo and Paul Bezuidenhout, 22, were convicted earlier on charges ranging from racketeering to contravening the Marine Living Resources Act and theft in October 2018.
They received varying prison sentences on Thursday, with some of them suspended.
But during the sentencing, it became evident that Prinsloo would be given a term of direct imprisonment, prompting family members seated in the public gallery – including Prinsloo’s wheelchair-bound mother – to begin crying.
Prinsloo also wiped away tears as he was sentenced.
Goosen found that Prinsloo’s role in the enterprise was that of a foot soldier, with the evidence showing that he would drive the transport vehicle and, on occasion, take perlemoen to the storage facility at Auto Body Concepts in North End.
Goosen said Prinsloo had been essential to the success of the enterprise and without him and Bezuidenhout – who the judge labelled as a runner for the business – it would not have been as successful.
Prinsloo was convicted of theft in 2004, for which he received a two-year correctional supervision sentence.
“Regrettably, this did not deter [Prinsloo] from involving himself in criminal activities.
“Again he committed theft,” Goosen said.
After being sentenced to an effective three years, Prinsloo glanced behind him at the public gallery with tear-filled, bloodshot eyes.
Naumann, also already serving a 12-year sentence stemming from the previous case involving Blignault, received a further 12 years, with seven years to run concurrently with the sentence he is currently serving.
Morne jnr, unlike his father, escaped direct imprisonment.
He and Bezuidenhout both received five-year suspended sentences.
After sentencing the men, Goosen turned his attention to concluding an inquiry into Prinsloo’s failure to attend court proceedings in late April.
The state prosecutor, advocate Martin le Roux, told Goosen that Prinsloo’s excuse for his absenteeism – that he had been fearful he might be sent to jail – was not a valid reason.He asked Goosen to consider a sentence which would run concurrently with Prinsloo’s three-year sentence as a fine would not be necessary.“[Prinsloo’s] R45,000 bail is now lost,” he said.“In effect, his running away cost him R45,000.”Prinsloo’s legal representative, advocate Johan van derSpuy, conceded that the state had dealt with the matter properly and fairly.In considering the appropriate punishment, Goosen said absconding from a criminal trial constituted a criminal offence and, in the circumstances presented before court, he had to find Prinsloo guilty of the offence.“Your explanation that you felt afraid of what may transpire – that is not a lawful reason to remain absent,” he said.Prinsloo was sentenced to six months in prison, to run concurrently with his threeyear sentence.Blignault had been out on bail for the previous case for which he received 20 years when he was arrested for the current matter.In both cases, Blignault was convicted on a number of counts including racketeering, contravention of the Marine Living Resources Act and theft.“It cannot be ignored that [while] facing the possibility of a severe sentence, [Blignault] went and got involved in similar activities [while out on bail],” Goosen said.During the sentencing, Goosen detailed each of the convicted men’s roles in the illegal enterprise.“The enterprise involved the handling of abalone [perlemoen] collected by divers.“[Naumann] dealt with payments made, [and] abalone was then collected by Bezuidenhout, who transported it to a storage facility.“[Prinsloo and Naumann] would then transport the abalone to Cape Town or Johannesburg,” Goosen said.He found that Blignault had been the mastermind behind the enterprise who controlled and provided funds for the operation.Morne jnr was arrested on February 4 2017 while driving a spotter vehicle, which served as a lookout and distraction during transportation of the perlemoen, Goosen said.He took into account that Morne jnr had no previous convictions and showed promise of bettering himself.“It is clear [Morne jnr] was drawn into the illegal enterprise managed by his father.“If it was not for his father, he would not have become involved in illegal activities,” Goosen said.