Cape Town - The Humansdorp regional court in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province has sentenced a man to seven years direct imprisonment after he caused the death of another person by hitting him with a beer bottle in St Francis Bay.
Dumisani Sotafile, 41, caused the death of 39-year-old Silulami Mhlanga in June after the pair argued at a local tavern, provincial police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said in a statement late on Monday.
The men were drinking at the tavern in Sea Vista in St Francis Bay at about 2pm when an argument broke out between them which ended with Sotafile striking Mhlanga on the head with the bottle. Mhlanga collapsed at the scene and was taken back to his home, where he started bleeding through his nose and subsequently died.
Sotafile submitted a plea to the court.
“Sotafile was charged for murder, and during court proceedings he submitted a plea on a charge of culpable homicide and conceded that his action resulted in Mhlanga’s death,” Nkohli said.
Acting district police commissioner Brigadier John Lebok welcomed the sentence and said it was unbelievable that attempts to curb reckless and irresponsible behaviour under the influence of alcohol seemed to be falling on deaf ears. Lebok said Sotafile’s jail sentence should serve as a deterrent on drunken behaviour.
In a separate incident, police in Aberdeen are investigating a case of culpable homicide after a 31-year-old passenger was killed when the driver of their car lost control. The vehicle overturned along the R61 road on Monday morning.
Four other people including the driver were injured and rushed to a medical facility for treatment.
African News Agency (ANA)