Teen
killer's sentence a dilemma - 24 October
A high court judge in Pietermaritzburg was told by a
Correctional Services official yesterday that if he sentences a
juvenile killer to more than 10 years in jail he will be held in
maximum security prison with mature hardened criminals instead
of a juvenile facility aimed at rehabilitating him. Here the
teen is admittedly likely to be exposed to abuse, including
sexual abuse, at the hands of adult prisoners and - it was
suggested by state advocate Andre Ludick - that would be akin to
"throwing him to the wolves". The evidence, given
yesterday by Dominic Zulu, an assistant director at Westville
Prison's juvenile section (medium D), caused Judge Pete Koen to
ask whether Correctional Services ought to review this policy. -
The Witness website
Teen
jailed for teacher's murder - 29 October
A 16-year-old matric pupil was sentenced to 10 years'
imprisonment in Westville prison's juvenile section, with
another 10 years suspended, by the Pietermaritzburg High Court
on Thursday for murdering a teacher. The suspended sentences was
conditional on his completing rehabilitation courses and passing
his matric, ordered Judge Piet Koen. - IOL
website
Couple
pleads guilty in love-triangle murder - 28 October
In a day of high drama in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's
Court yesterday, a judge accepted the guilty pleas of a young
Pietermaritzburg woman and her husband and convicted them for
the horrific February 7, 2009, love-triangle murder of the
woman's lover. Judge Piet Koen ruled that the guilty pleas
tendered by Kalisha Rajcoomar and her husband, Amith Sewkarran,
had satisfied all the essentials after State advocate Adel van
Vuuren said that the State would not accept the guilty pleas. - IOL
website
Victim
sues SA Roadlink - 28 October
A 30-year-old Johannesburg man who suffered severe head injuries
in a South African Roadlink bus crash in 2006 is claiming
R1.215m from the bus company's passenger services. The accident
in which Wellington Manana was involved occurred on the
Christmas Eve of 2006 in Pietermaritzburg. The case began in the
KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Wednesday and was expected to last
for the rest of the week. SA Roadlink is opposing the claim. - News24
website
Driver
error behind bus crash : court hears - 29 October
The Pietermaritzburg High Court heard on Thursday that driver
error and not a burst tyre caused a 2006 bus crash in which 12
people died. Automotive accident examiner Laurence Merchant was
testifying before Judge Adrian Rall in a R1,2 million claim by
passenger Wellington Manana against South African Roadlink's
passenger service. Driver CharlesVaudin was acquitted of
culpable homicide by the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court earlier
this year. - IOL website