Bloemfontein - A couple accused of forcing their 10-year-old daughter to exercise excessively appeared in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on Friday.
The 38-year-old woman and her husband, 31, face charges of attempted murder and child neglect.
The court postponed the matter to February 5 for the State to finalise the charge sheet and for the case to be placed before a different magistrate. The couple may not be named to protect the child's identity.
The sitting magistrate has recused himself due to his private involvement with the Bloemfontein school the girl attended.
The attempted murder charge relates to the girl allegedly being made to swim in the Krugersdrift Dam, outside Bloemfontein, while her parents watched from the side, in October last year. When she complained she was tired, she was allegedly assaulted and forced to swim again.
The couple is out on bail.
Sapa