Taxi driver gets 12 yrs for murder

2009-09-17 15:48

Pretoria - Taxi driver Percyval Matji was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the Pretoria Regional Court on Thursday for killing a 16-year-old schoolgirl on a scooter.

Passing the sentence, Magistrate Edmund Patterson said Matji's actions on the day of the accident were "terrible".

"Your actions were terrible and cannot be justified or condoned," he said.

Matji killed Bernadine Kruger in February this year, while she was riding a scooter to school in Garsfontein.

He bumped into her and the front wheel of the minibus taxi drove over her, killing her instantly.
Matji was found guilty of Kruger's murder a week ago.

Patterson said Matji showed no remorse during the trial and only his mother Celi Mahlangu said he was remorseful when she was called to testify in mitigation of sentence.

Mahlangu told the court Matji was a well-behaved child who was ready to help the community in his home town of Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga.

Patterson said the sentence was not to punish him but to serve as a deterrent to those who drive recklessly and put the lives of law-abiding citizens in danger.

Matji was declared unfit to possess a gun and his driver's licence and driving permit were revoked.
 

- SAPA