The Kagiso Magistrates’ Court sent a strong message to would-be criminals on Friday, 4 November when it punished seven people who appeared before the magistrate on charges of assault.

Criminals found out the hard way that when you do the crime you pay the price, either by doing the time or paying a fine.

One of the seven assault cases that were brought before the court resulted in a fine of R5 000 being imposed, or the perpetrator can face three years’ direct imprisonment. Another was fined R3 000 or 12 months’ imprisonment, while the third was fined R2 000 or 12 months’ imprisonment. The other four accused persons received a warning from the magistrate, plus one-year suspended sentences.

“Kagiso has been identified as one of the areas seriously affected by assaults, most of which are domestic and alcohol-related.

These cases can lead to unnecessary deaths if they go unattended,” said the spokesperson for the Kagiso Police Station, Warrant Officer Solomon Sibiya. He also said that discouraging violence and physical attacks on defenseless women and children should be everyone’s concern.

“Kagiso’s investigators must be applauded for continuing to show commitment during their investigations. The information they gathered to build their strong cases led to the court easily bringing justice to the victims of violence.

To all our police detectives – we salute you for not taking assault cases lightly. To perpetrators of violence – be warned that your days of attacking and assaulting others will soon be over. Most offenders are habitual because they are convinced that our courts do not take assaults seriously enough to warrant a sentence of jail time,” Sibiya told the News.

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