Man gets six-year suspended jail sentence for culpable homicide while driving under the influence

Albert Gerhardus Pretorius appeared at the Alexandra Regional Court after being accused of killing two JMPD officers while driving under the influence.

On the evening of Monday, 29 January 2018, Pretorius smashed his double-cab bakkie into a JMPD visible policing operation on Witkoppen Road, resulting in Winnie Mokgolo, 35, and Sophie Ngoasheng, 45, being killed and several motorists being seriously injured on the scene.

The accused’s attorney argued during his bail hearing that the prima facie evidence of his client’s intoxication was not conclusive that his client was driving under the influence at the time of the incident. His level of intoxication was nearly six times over the legal limit.

Pretorius received a six-year jail sentence for two counts of culpable homicide, which is wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of culpable homicide involving a motor vehicle during the period of suspension.

Then, on one count of driving under the influence, he was given an option of paying R10,000 or 12 months imprisonment.

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