Cape Town - A Pretoria bookstore owner has welcomed the news that former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter would reimburse them after 15 copies of his tell-all book were stolen last week.
The book, titled Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom, was published by Penguin Random House last month.
Graffiti Books owner, Leonie van Rensburg, told Jacaranda FM that fifteen copies were stolen, resulting in a loss of over R5 000 for the store.
“They just walked in grabbed 15 copies and ran off... It was a big display in the front of the store.
She said a staff member realised that the books were missing.
“I got a phone call yesterday informing me that André de Ruyter graciously decided that he will reimburse the store with 15 copies of his book to make up for the loss,” she told the radio station.
According to publishers, Penguin Random House, the book set a record in its first week of sales, selling 16 000 copies.
In the book de Ruyter makes allegations about widespread corruption he witnessed during his three-year tenure at the state-owned entity.
De Ruyter could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Penguin Random House has warned against sharing of the PDF copy of the book on social media platforms.
The company said the distribution of pirated copies infringed copyright and it was unlawful in terms of the Copyright Act.
“We wish to make clear to the public that the only way to obtain an ebook legally is to buy it from an ebook retailer or to borrow it from an authorised ebook library.
“Any copying or distribution of a pirated ebook, or any forwarding of a link to the pirated ebook, is unlawful,” the company said.
Cape Times