No matter how badly a customer treats you, never spit on their food.
A former McDonalds employee, Clement Othusitse Seothaeng, learnt this lesson the hard way. But he took it a step further when he pretended to be a disgruntled customer and sent a video of himself spitting on his employers, as he tried to extort money from them.
And now, five years later, Seothaeng has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Pretoria North magistrate’s court.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said in a statement that Seothaeng had worked at a McDonald’s restaurant in Montana as a crew member for two years.
The 27-year-old from the Northern Cape filmed himself spitting on a McFlurry ice-cream while pretending to be a disgruntled customer. All this in a bid to rip the business off.
“On 23 September 2017 while at work, Seothaeng recorded himself [using a cellphone] in a 20-second video clip preparing a McFlurry ice-cream without showing his face, just a person wearing a uniform,” said Mahanjana.
“However, when preparing it, he spat inside the Mcflurry ice-cream, mixed it, and closed the cap. After recording himself, he sent the clip to the manager with a different number as a concerned customer and demanded R150 000 to avoid the video being circulated on social media.”
The manager reported the demands and harassment to the police and Seothaeng was arrested days later.
Mahanjana added: “During the aggravation of sentence the prosecutor, David Molokomme, asked the court to impose a fitting sentence to reflect society’s disapproval of such improper and illegal behaviour, using social media for anti-social behaviour.”
Seothaeng was found guilty and given 10 years for extortion and five years for malicious damage to property. The sentences will run simultaneously.
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