One of two brothers accused of sexually assaulting four workers has wept bitterly in the dock of the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court while telling magistrate Linda van Tonder his version of events.
Hein van Vuuren wiped his eyes with toilet paper as he denied the allegations against him.
Van Vuuren and his brother, Enrico, were in court to apply for bail on three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, two of rape and two of sexual assault.
The workers allege they were physically and verbally abused before being forced to perform oral sex on the Van Vuurens.
They also allege that the brothers, who are from Ravensmead and own CA Timber in Blackheath Industrial, hurled racial slurs at them. The brothers were arrested last Tuesday.
Hein van Vuuren told the court on Monday he had taken some of the day shift staff home that day. When he returned to his factory, he smelled dagga.
He said four of the casual workers emerged from the back of the factory. When he confronted them, one said: “You can’t tell me what to do. I’m smoking dagga and you can’t tell me not to smoke.”
Hein van Vuuren said he grabbed the man and slapped him once before the men fled.
In affidavits, the workers allege the brothers went out to buy alcohol and were drunk when the incident occurred.
They also allege the brothers took one of the men to machinery used for cutting wood and asked another of the four men, Vuyani Nkomane, to turn it on. When Nkomane refused, one of the brothers allegedly assaulted him.
Under cross-examination Van Vuuren acknowledged he and his brother had been drinking, but denied the other allegations.
Prosecutor Hamley Marqueed argued that if the brothers were granted bail they would interfere with the police investigation and would be violent towards the community in which the men lived.
He said the men were terrified of the Van Vuurens.
Defence attorney Zirk MacKay said two of the men were present in court on Monday and neither had shown signs of trauma.
Outside the court, about 150 residents with placards sang and danced, calling for the brothers to be denied bail.
Enrico van Vuuren is to testify today. - Cape Times