Cape Town - The man accused of kidnapping, raping and murdering Tazne van Wyk, 8, has pleaded not guilty to all 27 charges brought against him.
The trial against Moehydien Pangaker began in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday.
The charges include common assault, kidnapping, 12 counts of rape, child exploitation, child grooming, murder, sexual assault, incest, intimidation and the violating or desecration of a corpse.
Some of the charges date from 2016.
As State prosecutor advocate Lenro Badenhorst read out each count and a description of the crime, Pangaker casually smirked and said: “not guilty”.
He made headlines after he allegedly kidnapped, raped and murdered Tazne.
The girl, from Connaught Estate in Ravensmead, was last seen on February 7, 2020, after she left her home to buy a sucker (popsicle) at a shop a few metres from her home.
The child’s body was found in a stormwater drain along the N1 highway in Worcester 12 days later. Pangaker had pointed it out to police.
The girl was raped, bashed to death and her hand was cut off.
Badenhorst told the court the State would be presenting video footage, photographs and cellphone data collected during the investigation.
He further submitted that a minor, who allegedly saw Pangaker with Tazne on the day of her disappearance, would take the stand to testify, as would a taxi driver who allegedly saw them get into a taxi near Hawaiian Fisheries.
Badenhorst told the that court cellphone data, provided by internet service provider Cell C, would show Pangaker’s movements which were picked up by cellphone towers.
During admissions made to the court, Pangaker’s defence, advocate Saleem Halday, read that his client admitted to owning a pink Nokia Asha cellphone at the time of the incident.
“Footage of the accused and the deceased have also been obtained by the South African Police Service at a local garage on the N1 near Worcester. Footage will show the accused leaving the garage and turning left into the direction of De Doorns,” Badenhorst said.
An eight-minute recorded call between Pangaker and a relative has also been obtained and will be played in court.
The matter continues.
IOL