Kruibeken resident Robert Van Ryckeghem (72) was robbed for years by KV, an OCMW employee who managed his finances. “She complimented me,” he previously noted. The judge ordered the woman to pay him back 13,183.73 euros. The seriously ill Robert appeals against this. “That is only a fraction of the total amount. Everything is in black and white, we continue to fight for justice,” says his daughter Patsy.
The judgment pronounced against KV in the first instance in the Dendermonde court dates back to March 19. The woman, who was active at the OCMW in Kruibeke for a long time but comes from Dendermonde, received a suspended prison sentence of two years and had to compensate her victims for a total of 70,560 euros.
Money used for lingerie
For years, De Dendermondse abused her position to steal money from her unsuspecting customers. The damage was estimated at 115,000 euros in 2012. She stole a significant part of that money from the unsuspecting Robert Van Ryckeghem (72).
“She used my daddy’s money for trips and she even bought lingerie with it,” his daughter Patsy said earlier. “All my daddy’s money is gone. This concerns tens of thousands of euros in the last ten years. In reality it is even much more, but the investigation only starts counting from 2012. We have permanently lost everything she stole before that.”
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Sick for two weeks
The judge ruled that 13,183,70 of the 70,560 euros should go to Robert. An amount that the victim and his daughter are not happy about. “We were in shock, I was sick for two weeks. We let the verdict sink in for a while, but now we have decided to appeal,” says daughter Patsy.
“We have proof in black and white that she certainly stole three times that from my father. The justice system is failing us, it’s shameful.”
READ ALSO. Stealing OCMW employee receives a two-year suspended prison sentence and must repay victim Robert (72) 13,000 euros: “Scandalous, that is only a fraction of the total”
“This is not a punishment”
Robert, who is seriously ill, is also dissatisfied with the ruling. “She’s been robbing me for years and she’s just getting away with it. This is not a punishment,” he said. “My dad suffers from lung cancer that has spread, but it is his wish to appeal. We want to continue fighting for justice. Unfortunately, we have now left again for a few years, but we could not accept this verdict. We feel like we were robbed a second time, this time by the justice system,” says Patsy.
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