More evidence is being collected in a case involving an Mpumalanga teacher accused of beating a pupil to death, police said on Tuesday.
This would be sent to the director of public prosecutions for a decision on whether to act against the teacher, said Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Hlathi.
He said the police took the case to the Tonga Magistrate's Court last Monday, but the prosecutor referred it back because of a lack of evidence.
“We have resumed our investigation into the matter and are currently taking statements.”
Hlathi declined to elaborate.
A seven-year-old pupil was apparently beaten with a broomstick on June 4 after missing school on June 1. He died on June 8.
The Sowetan newspaper reported on Tuesday that the teacher had been fired under the Employment of Educators Act.
The act stipulates that a teacher who resigns while suspended is deemed to have been discharged due to misconduct, according to the newspaper.
The teacher was suspended on June 15 and resigned on June 18, The Sowetan reported.
The DA in Mpumalanga welcomed the suspension.
Spokesman James Masango said he hoped the SA Council of Educators would endorse the province's request to have the teacher removed from the educators' roll.
“We hope that the police will treat the investigation with the urgency it deserves,” he said.
In doing so, it would bring closure to a family suffering a terrible loss. – Sapa