|
''S v Zinn'',〔1969 (2) SA 537 (A).〕 an important case in South African criminal law, was heard in the Appellate Division by Steyn CJ, Ogilvie Thompson JA and Rumpff JA on March 21, 1969, with judgment handed down on March 31. H. Snitcher QC appeared for the appellant; for the state, AJ Lategan. The case is most often cited for its provision of a basic triad of sentencing considerations: the crime, the criminal and the interests of society.〔540G.〕 == Facts == In 1956, a furniture-manufacturing company, Lola Zinn Furniture (Pty) Ltd, was registered, with Zinn and one Smith, an illiterate man, as equal shareholders and directors. One hundred shares of R2 each were issued to the shareholders. Smith supervised labour and machinery, while responsibility for sales and all financial matters lay with Zinn, who was also both secretary and public officer of the company. As the company was under-capitalised from the beginning, Zinn borrowed heavily and continuously from money-lending institutions, commonly known as "shippers." He began to borrow * in 1958 from a company later called Allied National Corporation (SA) (Pty) Ltd; * from 1961 from MH Goldschmidt (Pty) Ltd; and * in 1965 from Neville Griffin and Company. To each of these firms, Zinn would present the annual balance sheet of Lola Zinn Furniture, together with the manufacturing account, the profit-and-loss account for the previous year, and, on the face of the balance sheet, the audit certificate and a signature purporting to be that of the company's auditor. These accounts were false. Of the company's trading and assets, they presented "a completely wrong picture."〔538B.〕 In order to obtain the required loans, Zinn had to satisfy the shippers that the money was being used for purchases of material. He was required to supply them with proof of genuine purchases, which he purported to do by way of statements reflecting such purchases, using paper with the letter heads of various firms and typing false figures on these in his factory. He then handed these counterfeits to the shippers. Zinn also obtained overdraft facilities for the company at Standard Bank by using the same false balance sheets. In 1965 and 1966, the bank assisted the company by discounting bills and promissory notes from two furnishing companies. Not only was the bank not informed that these bills and notes were in fact accommodation bills; Zinn also fraudulently entered false invoice numbers on these bills in order to present evidence of their being genuine trade bills and notes—the Bank being prohibited from discounting accommodation bills. Although the company showed a small annual profit up to 1961, it was run at a loss thereafter which became progressively worse. In 1963, it was R28,017.52; in 1964, R41,804.14. No balance sheet could be obtained for the year ending 1965. Zinn was pressed for more than a year to reduce his stock, "which of course was largely imaginary," but every time came forward with "a very good excuse for not doing so."〔541A.〕 In 1966, "the company crashed and its factory literally went up in smoke."〔538F.〕 The actual losses incurred by the shippers were as follows: * Allied National Corporation—R64,509.77 * MH Goldschmidt & Co.—R242,110 * Neville Griffin & Co.—R63,766.17 The total was R370,385.94. The amount obtained by way of overdraft facilities from Standard Bank was R612,309. Although the bank was paid the amounts owing to it, sureties who signed in respect of those facilities lost R18,000, while the furniture firms who issued the accommodation bills lost R25,631.29.〔538G-H.〕 Over the period from June 30, 1964 to June 30, 1966, at a time when Zinn knew that the company was "hopelessly insolvent," he incurred debts for it totalling R648,177, including amounts borrowed from the shippers. Finally, between 1961 and 1966, he stole furniture from the company which he sold for his own benefit, the value of which was R40,609.22.〔538H.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「S v Zinn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|