Cape Town – The Cape of Good Hope Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has successfully managed to get a conviction and sentencing for dog fighting in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.
This after Nadeem Madatt, 28, from Manenberg pleaded guilty to the charges of dog fighting brought against him.
This comes after the SPCA investigated video footage received on May 31 last year of a dog fight.
Inspector Mark Syce had spearheaded the investigation.
“I went into the office to assemble the paperwork to obtain a court order at Wynberg Magistrate’s Court. Afterwards I met up with my Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse, members of Law Enforcement and members of the Manenberg SAPS to assist me with carrying out the court order,” Syce said.
He said on June 1, 2021 just after 11am, he arrived at the address in Manenberg and said it was evident from the footage it was the same property which had a yellow shade cloth on the gate and the line.
“I served him with the court order and asked him to show us around. We found the son Nadeem Madatt in the room fast asleep in his bed.
“We woke him up and found in the corner a brown female pitbull chained in his room in the corner by the entrance to his room.
“Chief Inspector Pieterse asked him for his phone and Nadeem unlocked it and we looked in his phone’s gallery and WhatsApp for any evidence of the dog fighting videos. In the WhatsApp videos folder, we found two videos of the dog fighting. The brown female pitbull is the same as the one in the video,” Syce said.
Madatt was arrested and taken to Manenberg police station.
Two pit bull dogs were removed from the premises.
According to Syce, they managed to identify and nail Madatt by his sandals and boxers which were visible in the dog fighting video.
“We also found the brown Omega sandals and checkered boxer shorts in Mr. [Nadeem] Madatts’s room which were worn in the video.
“The boxer shorts were hanging on the cupboard door knob and the sandals were found on the shelf just above his bed where he was sleeping.
“Chief Inspector Pieterse took into evidence the boxer shorts, brown omega sandals and Samsung A20 cell phone as evidence and sealed it in a SAPS evidence bag.
“A seizure notice was issued to Madatt by Chief Inspector Pieterse, a copy of the court order as well as Regulation 468 which was given to him,” Syce explained.
Madatt confessed and admitted to using his animal for dog fights.
He stated the brown dog fighting in the video was the same as the dog in his room.
He also claimed he did not know the other individual in the video whose tan dog was mauled and bitten but he stated the individual does live in the area.
The court ordered Madatt to pay a R5 000 fine or face three months imprisonment wholly suspended for three years on condition he is not convicted of further charges of animal fighting.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA welcomed the conviction but expressed their disappointment at the leniency of the sentence.
IOL