Griekwastad: NPA can appeal bail ruling
2012-10-04 15:54
Bloemfontein - The NPA was on Thursday granted leave to appeal the decision to grant bail to the 16-year-old Griekwastad family farm murder accused.
Northern Cape National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said this was done in the judge’s chambers.
No date had yet been set for the appeal hearing. The boy was out on R5 000 bail and in the care of a guardian, and receiving home schooling.
Prosecutor JJ Cloete contended in his motion of notice that the magistrate erred in finding that the boy was not a danger to those around him.
In the initial bail application, Cloete said the boy had given no indication whether he was innocent or not, and had lied to the police. The State contends it has a strong case against him.
Cloete submitted that the magistrate had under-emphasised the violence detailed in the charges and had over-emphasised the boy's interests.
Earlier, the Griekwastad Magistrate’s Court postponed the boy's murder trial to start in the Northern Cape High Court in Kimberley on 11 March 2013.
- SAPA
