Tazne van Wyk murder-accused claims police assaulted him

Battered and bruised alleged child killer Moyhdian Pangarker appeared in the Goodwood Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town amid strict security for the kidnapping and murder of Tazne van Wyk, 8, on Friday.

Covering his head with a shirt, Pangarker stared straight ahead as his lawyer Nico Janse van Rensburg told the court that his client had been assaulted by police. His swollen left wrist was covered with what appeared to be healing cuts. According to Janse van Rensburg, Pangarker also suffered injuries to his ribs, arms and neck.

The court ruled that no photographs may be taken of Pangarker at this stage.

As he was led back to the holding cells after his case was postponed to April 17 for further investigation, irate Connaught Estate residents started jeering, demanding he show his face.

One person tried to hit him with a broken crutch, but was swiftly disarmed by an officer in the packed courtroom.

Locals had earlier ripped a court gate from its hinges and had blocked Voortrekker Road ahead of the parolee’s appearance in the dock.

Demanding to be allowed to see “daai ou bandiet” [that old criminal], Magistrate Bukiwe Sambudla allowed people to stand in the gallery after those who had not been allowed entry started banging on the wooden court walls.

Tazne’s parents Carmen and Terence waited on the side of the dock for the accused to be brought into the courtroom.

Terence became agitated as officers surrounded the stairs leading from the holding cells, afraid that those who had forced their way into the building without being searched could attack Pangarker.

Carmen stared blankly ahead.

This was Pangarker’s second appearance in the dock in less than a week. He appeared in the Cradock Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after he was arrested for Tazne’s kidnapping the night before in the Eastern Cape Town.

He was charged with the little girl’s murder on Wednesday night after he led police to her remains outside Worcester. Her decomposing body was found in a stormwater pipe.

Tazne had been missing for almost two weeks. She was last seen on February 7 walking to a tuck shop mere metres from her home in Connaught Estate.

One courtgoer said she had been part of a convoy who on Thursday had travelled to the place where Tazne had been dumped.

“If he hadn’t pointed out to police where she was, that child would still be lying there. She would never have been found.”

Pangarker absconded from parole a year ago, the department of correctional services confirmed to News24.

He had served half of a 10-year sentence for culpable homicide and kidnapping when he was granted parole, but later disappeared.

According to National Prosecuting Authority Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, Pangarker has a criminal history which dates back to the 1980s.

In 2015, he was convicted of possession of a stolen vehicle in Ladismith and driving a vehicle without authority.

In 2003, he was convicted of assault in Ladismith and breaking correctional supervision in Elsies River.

In 2001, he was convicted of culpable homicide, abduction and child neglect in Ladysmith, as well as a murder charge in Kuils River.

In 1998, he was convicted on a burglary charge in Laingsburg. In 1991, he was convicted of theft in Kimberley.

In 1988, he was convicted of assault in Ravensmead and in 1981 of theft and housebreaking in Elsies River.

According to Ntabazalila, he also absconded in 2015 and had been placed on parole supervision the next year until 2019.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.