A former McDonald's employee has been sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment for malicious damage to property for spitting into a McFlurry ice cream and extortion.

Clement Seothaeng was sentenced in the Pretoria North Magistrate's Court this week.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says Seothaeng, who worked at the McDonald's branch in Montana, recorded himself on 23 September 2017, preparing and spitting inside the ice cream cup.

The NPA says he sent the 20-second clip to his manager and pretended to be a concerned customer.

Regional spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, says the former employee demanded R150 000 to avoid circulating the video on social media.

She says he was arrested during a sting operation after the manager reported the matter to the police.

Mahanjana says Seothaeng was given 10 years for extortion and five years for malicious damage to property but the magistrate ordered the two sentences to run concurrently.

"The NPA welcomes the sentence of a former McDonald employee who was sentenced by the Pretoria North Magistrates Court to 10 years direct imprisonment after he was convicted of extortion and malicious property damage," she added.

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