• Law Reports
  • S v Masukela (902/2004) [2004] ZAFSHC 133 (10 …

S v Masukela (902/2004) [2004] ZAFSHC 133 (10 June 2004)

31 Reportability
Criminal Law
View PDF SAFLII Source
Share WhatsApp LinkedIn X Email

Brief Summary

Criminal Law — Maintenance Orders — Failure to comply with maintenance order — Accused convicted under section 31(1) of Act 99 of 1998 and sentenced to a fine or suspended imprisonment with community service — Management of designated community service institution declines referral of accused due to lack of available tasks — Magistrate requests deletion of community service condition. The accused was convicted for failing to comply with a maintenance order and sentenced to a fine or suspended imprisonment with community service at a children's home. The institution declined to accept the accused for community service, citing no available tasks. The legal issue was whether the condition of community service could be maintained despite the institution's refusal to accept the accused. The court held that the condition of community service was to be deleted from the sentence due to the institution's inability to accommodate the accused.

About SAFLII
Databases
Search
Terms of Use
RSS Feeds
South Africa: Free State High Court, Bloemfontein
SAFLII
>>
Databases
>>
South Africa: Free State High Court, Bloemfontein
>>
2004
>>
[2004] ZAFSHC 133
|

|

S v Masukela (902/2004) [2004] ZAFSHC 133 (10 June 2004)

IN THE HIGH
COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(ORANGE
FREE STATE PROVINCIAL DIVISION)
Review
No. 902/2004
In
the review between:
THE
STATE
and
BOTHA
MASUKELA
___________________________________________________________
CORAM:
CILLIé
et
VAN
DER MERWE, JJ
___________________________________________________________
JUDGMENT
BY:
CILLIé, J
___________________________________________________________
DELIVERED
ON:
10 JUNE 2004
___________________________________________________________
After his conviction of contravening section 31(1), Act
99 of 1998 (failing to comply with a maintenance order), the accused
was
sentenced as follows:
“In terms of section 297(1)(b), Act 51 of 1977 the accused is
sentenced to a fine of three thousand Rand (R3 000,00) or three (3)
months imprisonment which is wholly suspended for a period of four
(4) years on the following conditions:
(i) ………
(ii) That he performs community service at Leratong Children’s Home
Phuthaditjhaba for a period of three (3) months, three days
per week,
between the hours 09h00 until 15h00 – Mondays to Wednesdays, with
effect from 07/07/2003.
(iii) ………”
(The
conditions in (i) and (ii)
supra
are irrelevant for present purposes and therefore omitted).
The presiding magistrate in his explanatory letter
accompanying this special review now reports as follows:
“However, the Management of the institution declined the referral
of the accused to them per letter dated 08/07/03.”
In the mentioned letter the manager of the institution
states that there is no specific job that can be allocated to the
accused.
For
that reason the magistrate requests a deletion of this specific
condition. There is no other solution than to accede to the
magistrate’s
request.
The
following order must follows:
Sub-paragraph (ii) of the conditions of suspension of
the sentence imposed on the accused is deleted.
______________
C.B. CILLIé, J
I CONCUR
___________________________
C.H.G. VAN DER MERWE, J
/scd

Back to Law Reports