A 23-year-old Northern Cape man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for stabbing a tavern patron to death with a broken beer bottle.
A 23-YEAR-old man from Camden village, Keaobaka Shadrack Moloko, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for stabbing a tavern patron to death with a broken beer bottle.
The incident took place at a shebeen in Promise Land where the accused and deceased were drinking.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said that after being instructed to leave the tavern after closing time, the accused told an eyewitness that someone was throwing sand at them.
“The accused confronted the deceased when he saw sand residue in his hand. The witness testified that the accused hit the deceased with a bottle over his head that subsequently broke. He proceeded to stab the deceased with the broken bottle. The victim died as a result of his injuries and the accused was arrested and charged with murder.”
He added that the witness did not see the deceased being involved in a fight with anyone else or sustaining any injuries before he was struck by the accused.
“The accused denied causing the death, where he claimed that he was outside when the deceased was killed.
“In aggravation of sentence, State prosecutor Kekeletso Lekota motivated that the court should impose the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years.”
Senokoatsane added that the accused was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment as the court was unable to find any substantial or compelling circumstances warranting a deviation from the prescribed sentence.
“The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” he said.
