The Waterkloof Four will head back to the Pretoria High Court on May 28 to ask for leave to appeal to the supreme court of appeal in Bloemfontein against the confirmation of their murder and assault convictions.
But time could be running out for Christoff Becker, Frikkie du Preez, Gert van Schalkwyk and Reinach Tiedt. Judge Willie Seriti last week extended their bail on condition that they file their application for leave to appeal within seven days - which they did this week.
If Seriti, assisted by Acting Judge Piet Ebersohn, refuses them leave to appeal, their bail could be revoked and they may be ordered to start serving their 12-year jail sentences.
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Their bail has only been extended until judgment has been delivered in the leave to appeal application. The four can, however, following the judgment, again apply for an extension of their bail - either pending the outcome of their case before the appeal court or, in the case of leave to appeal being denied, pending an application directly to the appeal court for leave to appeal.
The grounds for appeal to Bloemfontein are nearly exactly the same as the grounds for appeal in the high court recently. In turning down their appeal last week, Seriti rejected the submissions by the defence that the man the four had assaulted in December 2001 in a park in Moreleta Park was not the same person the police later found dead in the park.
Seriti said: "The submission that the corpse of the deceased mentioned in this case is not the man who was assaulted by the appellants cannot be sustained."
The defence once again took this point in its latest application to fight the case in Bloemfontein and said the judge erred in finding that it was the same person. The defence again highlighted the lack of facial injuries on the man and the absence of blood on the scene where the homeless man was found dead.
Advocate Jaap Cilliers SC, acting for the four, in his latest application said the judge also erred in finding that they had the intention to kill the man. He said it was clear that the aim of the confrontation with the man that night was to arrest him, as it was clear that he had committed a crime.
But Seriti said the assault was so brutal that the four should have realised he could die.
Cilliers said the court also erred in finding that the State witnesses were credible, despite the many contradictions in their evidence.
Regarding the court's refusal to reduce the 12-year sentences, he said the judge did not consider the fact that they were still teenagers at the time of the incident and the fact that they were no danger to society.
Seriti was last week reluctant to extend bail, but did so under the specific condition that the defence did not drag its heels in applying for leave to appeal. Bail conditions now include that they may not visit "places of social gatherings where alcohol is served".
- This article was originally published on page 4 of Pretoria News on May 15, 2008
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