The Western Cape’s top child maintenance defaulter, who owes R113,600, appeared in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, the justice department said.

The court heard that Faizel Petersen, 39, had not paid maintenance for his four minor children since last year, said regional departmental head Hishaam Mohamed.

Petersen was arrested on Monday following a tip-off after police tried to find him at five different addresses. He worked as a taxi driver and lived with his parents on a farm in Philippi.

He was currently serving 120 days in jail for contempt of court after failing to comply with the maintenance order. He would apply for bail in the same court next Thursday.

Mohamed said they were intensifying the search for the top 20 maintenance defaulters in the province and had already arrested three this week.

Since the launch of Operation Isondlo last month, 50 maintenance defaulters had been arrested and more than R550,000 paid out to beneficiaries. SAPA