Judgment is set to continue in the case against a a taxi driver and his tout who randomly selected commuters to rape and rob.
|||Cape Town - A taxi driver and his tout who randomly selected commuters to rape and rob at gunpoint havebeen convicted of some of the crimes committed more than six years ago, with judgment set to continue in the Cape Town Regional Court on Thursday.
Magistrate Lulumile Mdoda started delivering judgment in the case against taxi driver, Peter Andrews and Tony Myburgh, on Wednesday.
The men were charged with 20 counts of rape, attempted rape, indecent assault and aggravated robbery for terrorising commuters who got into their taxi en route from Bellville to Cape Town in June 2007.
In some instances the men drove off the specified routes and parked at secluded areas including a cemetery, Goodwood Sports grounds and the shooting range at De Waal Drive to rape and rob their victims.
By end of the court day on Wednesday, Judge Mdoda was only midway through his judgment.
He had revisited the evidence and convicted the pair of some of the charges relevant to them.
One woman who was raped by Andrews on June 23, 2007, has since died in a car crash.
So far, Myburgh has been convicted of three counts of rape, two of aggravated robbery and one of indecent assault and Andrews has been convicted of two counts of rape, one of attempted rape, and two of aggravated robbery.
The court heard one woman boarded the taxi on June 14, 2007 at about 11am. She testified that Myburgh instructed Andrews to drive to Durbanville and threatened her at gunpoint to keep quiet.
Soon afterwards the taxi stopped at a Caltex garage, Myburgh reached for the woman’s bag and took R20 and gave it to Andrews for petrol.
They then drove to De Waal Drive parked there and told the woman to undress before taking turns to rape her.
Their DNA linked them to the crime, the judge said. Three hours later, they dropped the woman in Strand Street.
Judge Mdoda said previously that in many of the instances the women were single witnesses and that their evidence should be treated with caution.
But he found them to be reliable and able to give a clear, detailed account of what happened to them. The DNA tests results also corroborated their version.
“It happened during broad daylight. She was very close to them when they were on top of her and as such she had enough opportunity to observe them.
“The (De Waal Drive) complainant was a very strong, positive and confident witness,” Mdoda said.
Judge Mdoda said Andrews was a passive participant as he drove the vehicle, took pictures of one victim and complied when Myburgh told him to rape the women.
The men were acquitted of the aggravated robbery of their first victim because she did not come to court for cross-examination and also of the robbery of their only male victim.
Judgment will continue on Thursday.
jade.otto@inl.co.za
Cape Argus