Slave Posted September 18, 2009 Share Pretoria - Taxi driver Percyval Matji was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the Pretoria Regional Court on Thursday for killing a 16-year-old schoolgirl on a scooter. Passing the sentence, Magistrate Edmund Patterson said Matji's actions on the day of the accident were "terrible". "Your actions were terrible and cannot be justified or condoned," he said. Matji killed Bernadine Kruger in February this year, while she was riding a scooter to school in Garsfontein. He bumped into her and the front wheel of the minibus taxi drove over her, killing her instantly. Matji was found guilty of Kruger's murder a week ago. Patterson said Matji showed no remorse during the trial and only his mother Celi Mahlangu said he was remorseful when she was called to testify in mitigation of sentence. Mahlangu told the court Matji was a well-behaved child who was ready to help the community in his home town of Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga. Patterson said the sentence was not to punish him but to serve as a deterrent to those who drive recklessly and put the lives of law-abiding citizens in danger. Matji was declared unfit to possess a gun and his driver's licence and driving permit were revoked. - SAPA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed Posted September 18, 2009 Share read the story about the jailing in the beeld this morning. the headline was telling: twee ma's se trane". a lot of hubbers can learn from bernadine's mother's ability to forgive the driver. what he did was so wrong, but at least she can forgive him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur1 Posted September 18, 2009 Share I am very glad about the outcome of this. I hope this sends out a clear message to all South African road users, and not just the taxi drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slave Posted September 18, 2009 Share I think 12 years is too light a sentence.He is guilty of murder and feel he should have got life without the pssibility of parole. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur1 Posted September 18, 2009 Share I think 12 years is too light a sentence.He is guilty of murder and feel he should have got life without the pssibility of parole. Just my opinion. Maybe. But normally people get away with manslaughter and it normally ends up in a suspended sentence. This being a murder conviction is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed Posted September 18, 2009 Share slave, i often have a difficulty in understanding the sentences that magistrates and judges hand down. it becomes a very subjective thing. this is determined in how well either side can argue in either mitigation and aggravation (sorry, not sure if that's the right term) of sentence. even bernadine's mother acknowledged that she knew the driver's dependants would suffer because of his incarceration...but, and i quote from memory and bad translation from afrikaans, she said: "they will get to visit him in prison every month. i will never get to see my daughter again"...that made me cry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MintSauce Posted September 18, 2009 Share read the story about the jailing in the beeld this morning. the headline was telling: twee ma's se trane". a lot of hubbers can learn from bernadine's mother's ability to forgive the driver. what he did was so wrong' date=' but at least she can forgive him.[/quote'] Many people fail to grasp the truth in the saying...."If you harbour bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed Posted September 18, 2009 Share read the story about the jailing in the beeld this morning. the headline was telling: twee ma's se trane". a lot of hubbers can learn from bernadine's mother's ability to forgive the driver. what he did was so wrong' date=' but at least she can forgive him.[/quote']Many people fail to grasp the truth in the saying...."If you harbour bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere" thanks, minty...that's made my day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed Posted September 18, 2009 Share I think 12 years is too light a sentence. He is guilty of murder and feel he should have got life without the pssibility of parole. Just my opinion. ? Maybe.? But?normally people get away with manslaughter and it normally ends up in a suspended sentence.? This being a murder conviction is good. another case in point is the judge motala sentence. the prosecution asked for a R1000o fine, reduced it to R5000. the judge gave R20000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowbee Posted September 18, 2009 Share slave' date=' i often have a difficulty in understanding the sentences that magistrates and judges hand down. it becomes a very subjective thing. this is determined in how well either side can argue in either mitigation and aggravation (sorry, not sure if that's the right term) of sentence. even bernadine's mother acknowledged that she knew the driver's dependants would suffer because of his incarceration...but, and i quote from memory and bad translation from afrikaans, she said: "they will get to visit him in prison every month. i will never get to see my daughter again"...that made me cry.[/quote'] Sir, please go watch a movie or have a beer. . I would tell you to go ride but I know you cant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slave Posted September 18, 2009 Share Holy, yes, I agree with you. It was very magnanamous of Bernadines mother to be so forgiving. What we also need to remember was that the act appeared to be deliberate according to memory of eye witness accounts. It is very sad that the dependants of the taxi driver will suffer the loss of his income, but he should have considered the consequences of hs actionsand perhaps we would not be having this debate. I still think he should have got more, but glad that at least the sentence is moderately harsh. At least justice is seen to be done here. I cannot help but wonder when he will be eligibale for parole or if his sentence will be abandoned at the presidents next birthday or if he will be given some presidential pardon next time the president is feeling good about something. There should be a standard set out and all justices shouls abide by them. Subjectivity can lead to all sorts of misinterpretations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed Posted September 18, 2009 Share slave' date=' i often have a difficulty in understanding the sentences that magistrates and judges hand down. it becomes a very subjective thing. this is determined in how well either side can argue in either mitigation and aggravation (sorry, not sure if that's the right term) of sentence. even bernadine's mother acknowledged that she knew the driver's dependants would suffer because of his incarceration...but, and i quote from memory and bad translation from afrikaans, she said: "they will get to visit him in prison every month. i will never get to see my daughter again"...that made me cry.[/quote']Sir, please go watch a movie or have a beer. . I would tell you to go ride but I know you cant yeah, pretty bummed about not being able to ride my bike. but my troubles are nothing compared to others. perspective, i guess. the heart-rending stuff like the bernadine case is just a fraction of the human misery i have to wade through every day in my job. makes me truly thankful for the gifts i have, and i'm learning not to sweat the ones i don't. having a beer now. my good mate has just arrived at the pub. watching a movie later. life is good. i hope it is for all of you guys too. enjoy the weekend. slave, you are right. but don't let the anger get the better of you. it's a crap emotion. follow bernadine's mother's lead. she can forgive. she'll never forget though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Brunsdon Posted September 18, 2009 Share I think 12 years is too light a sentence.He is guilty of murder and feel he should have got life without the pssibility of parole. Just my opinion. Maybe. But normally people get away with manslaughter and it normally ends up in a suspended sentence. This being a murder conviction is good. My sister-in-laws 18yr old daughter was killed by a drunk driver - 2yr sentence. So 12 years is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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