South African movie star fined over fake licence

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-04-19 08:43

The star of Oscar-winning South African film "Tsotsi", Presley Chweneyagae, seen here in Los Angeles in 2006, has pleaded guilty to a charge of being in possession of a fake driving licence as he appeared before a court in the capital Pretoria.[AFP]

The star of Oscar-winning South African film "Tsotsi" pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of being in possession of a fake driving licence as he appeared before a court in the capital Pretoria.

Presley Chweneyagae, who gained international fame last year when the movie, a raw depiction of Johannesburg's criminal underworld, scooped the best foreign film award, was given a fine of 5,000 rand (700 US dollars) or six months in jail.

He only managed to pay 3000 rand which was in his possession on the spot and he will settle the outstanding amount at a later stage, SAPA news agency reported.

Chweneyagae, 22, was arrested in January and charged with fraud after trying to convert an Ivory Coast driver's licence into a South African one.

Several local and foreign suspects have already been prosecuted for their part in a syndicate involved in converting stolen foreign licences into local ones. Chweneyagae agreed to help in the inquiry as part of a plea bargain.

In the movie, Chweneyagae plays a tsotsi, a colloquial term for thug, who undergoes a sea change when he carjacks a vehicle with a baby in the back seat.