INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

A police officer has been found dead in a ditch in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.

A policeman accused of making a fraudulent expense claim after escorting a prisoner to the High Court in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, made his seventh appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Friday.

Warrant Officer Werner Bothma, 48, was not asked to plead and the case was postponed until July 06, 2012 for trial. He was released on his own recognisance.

His appearances relate to an alleged false claim that he made for breakfasts while booked in at three bed-and-breakfasts during his trip to and from Mthatha.

The State alleged that the rates charged by the three establishments included breakfast, and that, by means of a computer, Bothma created false invoices reflecting that they had charged only for accommodation.

Bothma was charged with fraud relating to the false claim, as well as forgery and uttering (the presentation of a forged document).

He travelled to Mthatha between June 8 and June 11 2008. - Sapa