Tourist rape: To High Court?
2003-03-04 18:59
Pretoria - The court case of four men arrested for the rape of a British tourist and the murder of a Mozambican who came to her aid, was postponed to March 17 by a Nelspruit regional magistrate on Tuesday.
A court official said the matter was postponed for further investigation. The case was expected to be referred to a high court for trial at a later stage.
Sipho Mbokane, Michael Dube, Eric Msibi and Willy Ngwenya were refused bail during their previous court appearance last month. They face charges of murder, rape, abduction and armed robbery.
The men allegedly abducted tourist Julie Stevens and her South African friend, Thinus Opperman, at a view site on the scenic Long Tom Pass in Mpumalanga in November last year.
They then allegedly drove the pair around for 14 hours and raped Stevens at least twice.
The couple's ordeal came to an end when the men overturned the car early the next morning.
Mozambican Domingo Chambal came under fire from the hijackers when he tried to render assistance to those in the overturned car. He was killed.
Stevens and Opperman managed to escape.
- SAPA