TygerBurger Milnerton
Reporter: Louisa Steyl
The detective work of a Table View police-woman has helped nab a conman with a criminal record dating back to 1978. John Clute’s latest misstep involves posing as a doctor and seducing women, in order to live rent free and get money from them. One victim, a Sunningdate resident, met Clute in town, with his brother Andre, who poses as a naval officer. She says both brotehrs were in their hand made uniforms when she met them. Clue was wearing a paramedic jumpsuit and said he worked for Netcare 911. His victim later found out, after phoning them, that Netcare had no record of a John Clute on their system. His victim says Clute soon moved in with her and would spend a week with her, before dissapearing for long periods of time. She says he also used a device which allowed him to carry two SIM cards in one phone and would send SMS’s from one number to the other, trying to convince her that his brother, Andreas, was threatening him. According to his victim, Clute would leave the house every morning at 5:30, in his paramedic jumpsuit, when her son-in-law would drop him off at ‘work’, and then come home at seven. She says more worrying still, is the fact that Clute gave her and her family medication, sometimes even injections, while posing as a doctor. His victim says during the time he was staying with her, Clute always had an excuse as to why he didn’t have money. Either his credit card wasn’t working, or his salry had not yet been paid. “He never contributed a cent,” she says. His victim also paid for flight tickets for him to deal with ‘family emergencies’. One day, she came home to find his belongings, and some of her own missing. Detective Constable Anthea Fluks then picked up the case, after his victim laid a charge at the Table View Police Station. Fluks spent six months, ofter working till late at night, searching for him. Eventually, with the help of self phone tracking, and an informant, she arrested him at the New National hotel in Parow on Friday 13 November. It seems the two brothers have been doing this for years, as Andreas has already appeared in the Cape Son newspapder for sweeping women off their feet and ‘taking them for a ride’. Andreas allegedly poses as a pilot, teacher, naval officer and even a priest. They victimise single women who are vulnerable. Since his latest victim, there have reportedly been about five other calls to Netcare 911, enquiring about Clute.