Hillary roadside robber sentenced to 20 years in prison for stealing cellphones
A man who was caught after robbing a woman in English Road, Hillary, and linked to other muggings of children in Parkside Road in Queensburgh, was given an effective sentence of 20 years in prison today in Durban Magistrate's Court.
MAGISTRATE Melané De Jager in her sentencing this morning (Wednesday, 20 November) in the Durban Magistrate’s Court said one of the factors the court has to weigh in on, when deciding on suitable punishments for crimes like robbery and theft, was the effect of the crime’s incidence on the community in which it takes place and the opinion of the public about the justice system.
“Normally an individual can avoid violence by taking precautions to guard against property being stolen but this is not the case when it comes to robbery,” she said.
“Victims cannot take precautions against robbery in their day-to-day life.”
Failure to sentence according to the serious nature of the offence against vulnerable would erode public confidence in the judicial system.
— Highway Mail (@HighwayMail) November 20, 2019
De Jager, in outlining her decision to sentence Krishna Mthembu, a man in his 30s, who had been convicted on two counts of robbery and one of theft for the muggings of two children and a woman in Hillary and Queensburgh on different occasions in October last year, said the incidence of these type of crimes against women and children especially was becoming a trend.
“The taking of cellphones has reached epidemic proportions in our country,” said De Jager adding that it was clear to her that Mthembu had wilfully and intentionally sought out victims in the Hillary area for some time with the intent to steal phones.
“It was clear the accused was only interested in taking cellphones,” she said.
De Jager also added that while mobile devices are not necessary as a natural item, they have become a necessity for all, even the poorest of people, as a means of communication.
De Jager also indicated that in sentencing, she had to consider that Mthembu had violated his victims human right to feel secure in their place of residence and work.
Roberts almost always injure the victims, sometimes seriously. People who are robbed ate more often than not women or elderly people who can't defend themselves.
— Highway Mail (@HighwayMail) November 20, 2019
She sentenced Mthembu to 10 years imprisonment for the first count of robbery, another five years for the second count against him of theft, and 10 more years for the fourth count against him for a separate incident of robbery of a woman.
She ordered that the five year sentence for count two, theft, should run concurrently with the fourth count of robbery as well as noting that Mthembu had been in custody since his arrest by Bellair SAPS on 11 October last year.
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