No criminal record for Avoca man arrested for not wearing a mask
Sewsankar was arrested on 21 Febrary near his Bhamo Avenue home when he was returning from a morning jog.
AVOCA resident, Asheel Sewsankar, who was arrested for not wearing a mask, said he feels relieved knowing his criminal record has been cleared.
This after the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in KwaZulu-Natal declined to prosecute Sewsankar.
The R1000 admission of guilt fine that the 25-year-old was forced to pay following his arrest was also returned to him.
Sewsankar was arrested on 21 February near his Bhamo Avenue home when Greenwood Park SAPS were patrolling in the area.
He was set to appear in court on Monday, 1 March.
Read the original article here: Greenwood Parks SAPS arrest jogger during face mask patrol
“I did go to court on Monday, but I received a letter on Friday from a court attorney saying the admission of guilt and charge had been overturned,” said Sewsankar.
“It was a relief to know that my record has been cleared. SAPS were also instructed to remove my finger prints from their record,” he added.
Sewsankar sent a copy of the letter he received to the Northglen News and spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Natasha-Kara Ramkisson confirmed that the letter was authentic.
In the letter, chief public prosecutor in the Durban cluster, Advocate G Naidoo wrote: “You are informed that the admission of guilt has been set aside by the chief magistrate and this must be refunded to you. There will be no previous conviction recorded against your name. Please liaise with the investigating officer to ensure that your criminal record is clear.”
Also read: Thousands arrested for not wearing masks in KZN
Sewsankar said that he was unlawfully arrested.
“From the beginning it was unlawful, because the rules say that you don’t have to wear masks when going for a morning jog if you are away from other people,” he said
“A judge agreed that my arrest was unlawful, just as I have stated from the very beginning. The laws are clear and under the adjusted level 3 that we were on at the time, I was exempt from wearing a mask. I acted within the law as I always do,” added Sewsankar.
The Greenwood Park SAPS did not send their comment at the time this article was published.
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