Court official's son faces jail

2003-11-03 17:59

Noel Kuhlase

Nelspruit - The Nelspruit regional court will have to find a magistrate, prosecutor and interpreter from another area to preside over a case in which its chief interpreter's son is accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl.

Justice Naledi Mobeng is the son of chief interpreter Boyzen Mobeng and is also an inspector in the revenue section in Mpumalanga's department of finance and economic affairs.

He was not asked to plead in the Nelspruit sexual offences court on Monday to charges of indecent assault and the case was postponed to February 27 for external officials to hear his case.

According to the police docket Mobeng was left alone with the girl at a friend's house on February 12 this year.

She told police she was fondled all over her body and was told that she was developing well, especially in her pubic region.

She told her father about the incident when he returned home and he reported the matter to police.

Mobeng is out on an undisclosed amount of bail.

Meanwhile, he'll appear in the Nelspruit magistrate's court next Monday, November 10, on charges of defrauding his department of more than R800.

Mobeng was suspended from work in December and reinstated in March this year after the charge was provisionally withdrawn in court in February. It's not clear if he will be suspended again since the case was reopened.

- African Eye