The Parole Appeal Board should explain how parole was granted to the alleged murderer of Dr Louis Heyns, the DA said.
|||Johannesburg - The Parole Appeal Board should explain how parole was granted to the alleged murderer of Dr Louis Heyns, the DA said on Sunday.
“The suspect in this case has previous convictions for car theft, house burglaries as well as two convictions for escaping, Democratic Alliance correctional services spokesman James Selfe said in a statement.
“He was also allegedly involved in the murder of a Stellenbosch socialite in 2007,” he said.
Heyns, 59, was reported missing last week. His grey Peugeot was later found at a chop-shop in Malmesbury, and three people were arrested. They took the police to his shallow grave body next to a putt-putt course in Beach Road, Cape Town, on Thursday.
The three will appear in the Somerset West Magistrate's Court on Monday.
Selfe said that although convicted in 2007, one of the men had already been released on parole.
He was released from Malmesbury prison in January after serving a sentence for being an accomplice to a murder.
“There could have been a communication breakdown at the parole board as it is clear that the suspect was not properly supervised. It is a scandal that he was released on parole in the first place, and now he has possibly committed a murder,” he said.
Selfe said he would ask Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services chairman Vincent Smith, to ask correctional supervision and parole review board chairman Judge Siraj Desai to explain the decision to grant parole.
“Judge Desai should explain, more generally, the steps which will be taken to ensure that only offenders who are properly rehabilitated are given parole.”
Western Cape police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said details about the case would emerge at the court appearances on Monday.
“At this stage, I will not elaborate on anything further regarding this case as it is at a sensitive stage,” he said. - Sapa