Durban - The sister of SAA flight stewardess Priya Govender, who is due in an Australian court today for allegedly importing 6kg of cocaine worth more than R1million hidden in books, has sprung to her defence.
POST broke the story last week and it has garnered more than 1800 comments on Facebook.
READ: SAA hostess bust for drugs in Australia
If found guilty, the 32-year-old former Phoenix woman, who was apparently due to get married next month, could face life imprisonment.
While the rest of Govender’s family refuse to speak about the incident, her younger sister, Sharmini Leigh Govender, lashed out at Facebook commentators, saying her sibling was innocent.
“What happened to ‘innocent until proven guilty’?” the sister, who described herself as a Durban bartender, wrote.
“Instead of standing for the citizen or fellow race * guys can sit and judge the next and we call ourselves the rainbow nation. Waan be talking about morals.
“My sister worked extremely hard to get where she is today, and I look up to her as a role model, none of you know her accomplishments in life neither do your’ll know the impact she has had in life (sic).”
Priya, she said, was “nothing like what you nasty people describe her as... guilty or not, my sister or not, she has a right to a case and investigation like any other human being.
“Thank you to the many strangers that actually used their brains to think that this (is) maybe a set up. Good to know SA got some people with some common sense and not judgemental traits.”
She referred to a quote from the POST article.
“A 32-year-old, soon to be married female who really does and always will have the world at her feet isn’t stupid enough to go and purposely do something like this. Innocent until proven guilty.”
SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said the airline had no further comment to make.
The airline confirmed last week that one of its cabin crew was arrested after being allegedly found with illegal substances at Perth Airport.