The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court found criminal Bongani Moyo guilty on Tuesday of escaping from custody and sentenced him to another three years in prison.
Magistrate Len Miller said escaping from lawful custody was a serious crime for which the court had to impose a term of imprisonment.
The court had also taken into account that Moyo was appearing on charges of serious offences the day he escaped.
Moyo got up and left the court building in August after being made to sit on a bench outside the courtroom where he was appearing. He was apparently on crutches at the time.
He had been appearing with three others on charges including armed robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, and resisting arrest.
It emerged in court on Tuesday that Moyo was recently sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment for escaping from the Johannesburg police station.
Although the court was not told the circumstances of the escape, it did hear that Moyo was sentenced on June 4 in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
Miller turned down a request by Moyo’s lawyer advocate Donald Somo, to order that the three-year sentence run concurrently with the 14 year term.
Somo told the court that he had been instructed to appeal the judgment.
The application for leave to appeal was set down for June 26. – Sapa