Rape case: 'Amnesia a lie'
2004-06-09 13:33
Johannesburg - A man on trial for raping a six-year-old and injuring her so severely that her intestines were hanging between her legs, did not suffer from amnesia, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Wednesday.
The court is two weeks into the trial of Reuben Modiba of Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, who has denied charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, indecent assault and rape of the child.
Modiba has claimed he can remember nothing of his whereabouts and actions on the day of the rape on September 7 2002.
The last state witness, specialist psychiatrist Dr Leon Fine, told the court: "The accused's amnesia plea appears not to be genuine or consistent with the facts."
He testified that he was one of a panel of three who assessed Modiba's mental condition while he was in a psychiatric hospital for a month last year.
They found Modiba had an "antisocial personality", but he was found fit to stand trial. He was able to appreciate the difference between right and wrong.
Fine said that during observation there was "no indication of anything that could have caused amnesia." Modiba also had no underlying psychiatric condition.
Taking into account the evidence at the trial, Fine said it appeared that on the day of the rape Modiba's actions were "goal directed" and there was nothing to suggest he acted involuntarily.
The child, who will be eight in August, did not testify.
She was found in the veld a day after she had gone missing from her parents' home in Alexandra.
A paediatric surgeon giving evidence last week said "there was a great big gaping hole" between the child's vagina and anus. She spent two months in hospital after reconstructive surgery.
- SAPA