A young man was arrested on May 22 last year after he was apparently caught stealing pieces of gum tree at a farm near the Amahlongwa area.
He appeared in the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court last Wednesday.
A security guard on the farm took the stand as a witness.
The guard said he had been driving cattle on the farm when he was approached by another farm worker and told that there was someone cutting down sections of gum tree without permission.
The worker also claimed the man did not have permission to be on the farm.
When the guard tried to apprehend the suspect, the man fled with the pieces of gum tree which had already been cut into broomstick-like shapes.
The guard reported the matter to the policed and the man was arrested.
When questioned by the state, the man claimed that he was not cutting down the farmer’s trees, but was instead cutting the trees outside the farm’s boundary where “the wind had planted the seeds”.
He admitted that he knew the security guard and that they had previously been involved in altercations during which threats were exchanged and, in one instance, an assault occurred.
It is unclear whether the pair’s personal history played a role in the alleged crime.
The case, which continued for hours, was postponed for further investigation.
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