Doctor linked to previous claims

A RETIRED investigative journalist came across Dr Johan van Rooyen when he was asked to uncover the relationship between the doctor and a former patient.

Van Rooyen is appearing in front of a Health Professions Council of SA disciplinary hearing. It is alleged he swindled his frail and elderly patient Marjorie Pelton of more than R400 000.

Pelton, 80, who was senile and had a brain tumour, died penniless in 2012. She had been living off her investment account and monthly pension, and stayed in a retirement village in Diep River.

Jon Abbot, 83, writes on his blog (http://dearjon-letter.blogspot.com) that in 2011, Eric Rowberry asked him to look into Van Rooyen’s relationship with his father Richard, who died in 2010.

Van Rooyen was his 
doctor for four months until his death of lung cancer. Rowberry said that Van Rooyen had cashed seven cheques totalling R68 000. They wanted to know what had happened to the money.

Van Rooyen said he had gone to the bank at the request of Rowberry senior. Eric said it was unusual for his frugal father to spend so much money. The HPCSA declined to charge Van Rooyen as there was insufficient evidence.

Yesterday, Van Rooyen said the “whole thing was thrown out. It was rubbish”.

Abbot, who became a private investigator after leaving journalism, said he agreed to help Rowberry, and it was through that investigation he was told about Pelton. He also investigated that matter.

Last week, Pelton’s daughter, Carol Weber, testified about how she had received a call from her mother in early July 2009 to say a cheque had bounced.

“I said to her it was impossible that a cheque had bounced because I knew what her financial situation was,” Weber said.

But Pelton only had R94 left in her investment account. The account had been set up after she sold her Bergvliet house. There was more than R400 000 in the account.

Going through the bank statements and cheque stubs, Weber was horrified when she saw how often Van Rooyen’s name was popping up. Pelton had written numerous cheques to Van Rooyen from December 2008 to July 2009.

On April 3, R24 000 was withdrawn from the account, but she recorded R8 400 on the stub. On April 1 and 3, she had written cheques for R24 000 to Van Rooyen.

She called Van Rooyen, concerned that her mother’s forgetfulness was a sign of Alzheimer’s and because she wanted to thank him for being so attentive to her mother.

“He assured me it was normal old age,” said Weber.

She said in retrospect, he was fobbing her off so that she would not take over managing her mother’s affairs.

She ended her testimony by saying the family had not given Van Rooyen the right of access to take Pelton’s money, which they estimate to be between R400 000 and R450 000.

The hearing was postponed to March next year.

lynette.johns@inl.co.za

@lynnetteJohns