Magistrate slams 'drunk' cops
2005-06-23 22:36
Lucia Swart
Johannesburg - Two police officers who turned up apparently drunk at an accident in North West where a 19 year-old British girl and two South African sisters were killed, "most probably" will have to face a disciplinary hearing.
Magistrate Peter Khuduge found on Thursday in Mogase regional court near Rustenburg that nobody could be held responsible for the accident in April last year on the Elands River bridge between Rustenburg and Thabazimbi.
"Neither of the drivers could take any action to avoid the accident.
"But the police did not do their follow-up investigation properly.
Khuduge said: "Inspector Mali, who was at the scene of the accident, did not do the groundwork and, for that reason, inspector Ntshole (the investigating officer) could not investigate the incident properly.
Magistrate says both were drunk
Joseph Mali testified on Wednesday that inspector Naledi, who went with him to the accident, had been drunk.
He denied this under cross-examination.
Khuduge said: "The only way in which inspector Mali could not see that inspector Naledi was drunk, is if he, himself, was drunk and, because of that, neither of them did their work.
"I am going to follow this matter up and they will possibly, and most probably, face a disciplinary hearing.?
Khuduge said he would refer the matter to the national director of public prosecutions for further investigation.
"If the truck driver could be found, he could well be charged with culpable manslaughter, had he been negligent.
"It is thus necessary to have the matter investigated further."
Mrs Ansie Bezuidenhout, whose two daughters, Antionette, 20, and Chantelle, 18, were killed in the accident, said on Thursday she knew that this would be the magistrate's finding.
"But it is enough for me to know that the two policemen are probably going to face a disciplinary hearing.
"However, it makes no difference to the fact that they were negligent in their investigation of the case."
'Accident was investigated so badly'
The British couple whose daughter, Amy Taylor, 19, was killed in the accident, could only shake their heads.
Cheryke Taylor said with tears in her eyes: "I now have a better idea of what happened, but everything is still rather vague because the accident was investigated so badly.
"It is upsetting to me that this is the quality of work done by the South African Police Service in this instance.
"When a British magistrate accuses a police officer of negligence, it is a major upset.
"Here, the policeman simply stands there and it seems as if he could not care about it," she said.
- Beeld