A KAAPSE undertaker is believed to have scammed hundreds of families.
Petrus Booysen of St Francis Funeral Services in Kraaifontein made his second appearance at the Kuils River Magistrates Court on Friday, where he came face to face with the devastated families he is accused to have scammed.
Booysen is facing ten charges of fraud relating to the burial of victims.
It is further believed that he scammed an additional 11 families and is yet to face charges relating to this while discreet investigations continue.
This is just the tip of the iceberg as court papers reveal that bank records were still outstanding which will be vital in the State building its case against Booysen.
The State is awaiting a Section 205 application which allows access to bank records which will form part of the bundle of evidence to prove alleged fraudulent transactions of his funeral business.
In this it is believed, he allegedly scammed over 200 people in Cape Town with funeral policies which he apparently collected on a monthly basis.
This portion of the investigation may not be discussed publicly as detectives are currently obtaining statements from witnesses and victims.
The matter was postponed to 27 May 2025 for further investigation and Booysen, who is currently out on bail, was warned to be back in the dock.
Investigators are also tracing families of unclaimed bodies at State mortuaries, which is also believed to belong to apparent victims of Booysen.
Earlier the Western Cape Health Department revealed that there were close to 300 bodies which were unidentified in state mortuaries and were not claimed.
Anita Momberg, whose mother Tersia Murray was buried a pauper instead of being cremated last year August, was one of the first people to come forward.
But she is upset that families have been told to cover half the cost of exhuming bodies and DNA tests.
She said at court: “Why must we prove that Petrus did what he did? We were told the City will pay half of the exhumation costs but that we must also make a contribution.
“The burden must lay on the State. Why must I go and speak with a lawyer and get legal advice?”
Torian Hendricks, a relative of Cento Pearce, 24, who is also an apparent victim of Booysen’s, said they were horrified and shocked and left speechless after facing him at court.
Pearce’s family had to conduct two funerals and his face had been left open inside of his coffin for more than six hours.
During a telephonic interview with the Cape Argus last month, Booysen denied being operational and claimed he was sick and that he could not speak with the newspaper after being advised by his lawyer.
