A former deputy postmaster says he feels “unbelievable” after his conviction for false accounting was overturned by the Court of Appeal.
Sami Sabet was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence in 2009 after being accused of stealing £ 50,000 from the post office while running two branches in Shoreham-by-Sea and Brighton.
He had to use credit cards and loans to repay the money, when it was actually the Horizon IT system by Swiss Post which created the false shortfall.
“I can’t believe this day has arrived,” he told Sky News.
Sami Sabet ran two post office branches in Brighton and Shoreham-by-Sea
“You can’t imagine the anguish I went through. There isn’t a single minute in a single day that I don’t talk about it.”
Mr Sabet ended up in debt of £ 100,000 trying to repay the money despite repeated attempts to tell the Post office that he was not to blame and that it was Horizon’s fault.
He was one of 12 deputy postmasters to be cleared by three judges of the court of London Monday.
Another of those convicted of false accounting was Hasmukh Shingadia.
When he realized he was going to be exonerated, he and his wife burst into tears.
“It’s absolutely wonderful not only for me but for my wife and two daughters who went through the same hell as me,” said the former deputy postmaster, who ran a branch in Upper Bucklebury, Berkshire.
“His Freedom day for a lot of us really. I want to go back to my family and relax. “
Hasmukh Shingadia ran a post office branch in Berkshire
But for Tim Brentnall, who was convicted of false accounting after the discovery of a £ 22,500 shortfall at his Roch branch, Pembrokeshire, the result marks “a mixture of elation and demand”, but also of anger at the Post Office.
Now comes the fight for compensation, but he says the first priority was to clear his name.
“No amount of …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-07-19 12:18:00
