Yengeni trial postponed
2008-11-14 20:04
Cape Town - The drunken driving trial of former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni has been postponed for a week after hearing the testimony of only one witness.
The witness, Constable Charles Jaftha, told a Goodwood magistrate that he arrested Yengeni shortly after midnight on November 25 last year, after Yengeni's black BMW M5 repeatedly mounted the centre island in Cape Town's Voortrekker Road.
He also testified that his commanding officer pressured him into changing his statement to reflect a time of arrest three hours earlier than was actually the case.
It emerged during his testimony that though the blood sample taken from Yengeni that night reflects a blood alcohol level of 0.02 milligrams, well below the legal limit for driving, the state contends that the sample was "contaminated".
The next witness, Jaftha's fellow-constable Jeremy Voskuil, was available when Jaftha stepped down from the stand shortly after 15:00.
However magistrate Ricardo Phillips said it would not be desirable for Voskuil to begin his testimony and complete it only a week later.
He postponed the case to November 21.
- SAPA