Barbie case: Sedatives found
2005-02-17 16:12
Pretoria - Police found four types of sedative drugs at the house of two Pretoria advocates, accused among other things of drugging and raping a woman and a girl, a court heard on Thursday.
Pharmacologist George Muntingh testified in the Pretoria High Court trial of Cezanne Visser and Dirk Prinsloo about the sedative effects of the drugs.
They were Rohypnol, its generic version Rolab-Flunitraz, Normison and Stilnox.
Rohypnol is also known as the "date rape drug".
Muntingh said all four drugs affected the central nervous system and could cause memory loss.
The drugs were normally used to treat insomnia.
Muntingh testified that Rohypnol and Rolab-Flunitraz were initially listed as schedule five medicines, but were upgraded to schedule seven in 2002 because of their potential for being misused.
Memory loss
Rohypnol and Rolab-Flunitraz could cause the loss of memories of events that transpired up to eight hours after being consumed, he said.
"There is a good chance one may never remember, ever."
Neither drug should be given to children under 18.
Their other side effects included disinhibition, drowsiness, muscle relaxation, and the inhibition of motoric response and co-ordination.
Muntingh said a person taking Rohypnol or its generic version on an empty stomach would become unusually sociable, talkative and disinhibited after about 30 minutes.
This would be followed to a stage of sleepiness, whereafter they would actually fall asleep.
Visser and Prinsloo face two charges of rape - that of a 14-year-old girl and another of a 20-year-old woman.
Both complainants alleged they had been drugged by the pair before being violated.
New Rohypnol tests
Visser's counsel, Gerhard Botha, referred Muntingh to tests conducted on Rohypnol recently, after the tablets were changed in colour from white to green in order to minimise the risk of their being slipped into a person's drink unseen.
The findings of the tests, on a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, showed it was unlikely a person would consume the drug unknowingly, he said.
In most of the tests the drinks started fizzing, frothing and changing colour after the drug was introduced.
Postponement
The couple, out on R4 000 bail each, asked Judge Esop Patel on Thursday for a postponement of the trial to the fourth court term of the year for them to generate sufficient funds.
Patel said the five months leading up to the third term, when he wanted to conclude the trial, should be sufficient.
"It is not enough time," said Piet Coetzee, for Prinsloo. "We are talking about hundreds of thousands of rands. I am not appearing pro bono, and neither is my learned friend (Botha)."
The judge pointed out that the fourth court term of any year was very busy. If all else failed, the accused could apply for legal aid.
Patel said he would discuss the matter with the deputy judge president "but I will not go on twisting his arm, because then every other person will come and say he doesn't have enough money".
"If courts have to accommodate each and every individual, we would have such a backlog that the wheels of justice would come to a stop," he said.
- SAPA