A RUSSIAN geologist will be sentenced in the Swakopmund Magistrate's Court today after being found guilty of possession of a 24-carat rough diamond worth about N$20 000.

Sergeey Parketson (49) was arrested at Swakopmund last year after the Police discovered the gem at his home. He pleaded not guilty as he claimed he did not know that it was a diamond.

When the stone was verified as a diamond, Parketson argued that if it were a diamond, then it was probably an industrial diamond of low worth. He said the diamond tester was "unreliable".

Parketson has a PhD in geology and worked as a geologist for about 25 years. He has been involved in mineral exploration in Namibia since 2001.

According to him, he bought the diamond from a street vendor. He told the court that he thought it was granite or casterite - but did not suspect that it was a diamond.

"I know what the minerals look like but I'm not an expert," he told Magistrate Bernhard Tjatjara during his plea.

"The stone confused me. It could be granite, zircon etc; it had a cubic structure and the surface consisted of shapes that can be divided in four. Also the colour was brownish to black, and then of course, the dull appearance," he explained to the court.

 

His explanations were extensive on how diamonds differed from granite, but he could not differentiate the stone in question.

"The accused as a graduate geologist with a PhD degree and 23 years' experience should have known better, and his explanation that he did not know that it was a diamond is false beyond reasonable doubt, and is rejected.

"If the accused argues that it is not a diamond, that implies he has knowledge. It can also be argued that he would know if it was a diamond. In the light of the fact that what was examined was found to be a diamond, it is then obvious that the accused should have known that it is a diamond," Tjatjara judged before finding Parketson guilty.