NELSPRUIT – On Thursday the Provincial Office of SAPS in Mpumalanga refuted allegations that they refused to open a case docket on the matter which involves a man who was allegedly assaulted on the accusations of house breaking at Bloedfontein.
The matter appeared in the media with the allegations that the complainant was assaulted, dragged on the ground with a vehicle, and the police refused to open the case docket.
The correct facts from the police regarding this matter are as follows: On Wednesday October, 9, 2013 at around 15:00 the police (Vaalbank) received a call that there was a man who was assaulted at Bloedfontein. They immediately attended to the scene. On their arrival, the victim was already taken to Mmamethlake hospital and he was not available at the scene.
As a result, his sister, who was a witness of the assault, gave the statement to the police. The police went to the hospital to obtain a statement from the victim however, due to his injuries they were unable to get the statement and had to wait for him to be discharged.
A case of Assault GBH was opened by the police on behalf of the victim and the suspect (72) was immediately arrested. The docket was sent to court however the Prosecutor refused to put the matter on the roll because there was no statement from the complainant (victim). As a result the suspect was released.
It is therefore not correct that the police did not (refuse to) open a case docket. The police had to follow the correct procedure to deal with this matter, hence they could not interrupt the medical processes but, procedurally, had to wait for the complainant to be discharged from the hospital before a statement could be obtained from him. It should also be noted that police have no control on the decision taken by the Prosecutor(s) on a case docket. In this instance the police did their duty correctly, by arresting the suspect.
SAPS in Mpumalanga understands very well that justice delayed is justice denied, and has no intention whatsoever to cause any delay in any case docket in our possession.
