Shock at R20k fine for Pretoria wife-beater
The Pretoria North Regional Court has handed businessman Jaco Swart a three-year prison sentence, suspended for a period of five years, and a R20 000 fine for brutally assaulting his wife.
Swart was found guilty of assault with intent to cause serious bodily injury for beating his estranged wife Nicoleen.
The incident, which took place in 2018, was captured by CCTV cameras at his Rite Wheels auto dealership in Wonderboom.
However, concerns raised by Jaco Swart’s legal team around the authenticity of the footage meant it was not used as evidence in court.
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Afriforum Private Prosecution Unit spokesperson Barry Bateman said Nicoleen Swart approached the lobby group after her case was struck off the roll.
"The prosecutor of the National Prosecuting Authority applied for the footage to be admitted as aggravating evidence to the sentence, but the court denied it after the defence team questioned its authenticity.
"We hoped that more would be done to ensure that the footage was placed on record so that the magistrate could witness first-hand Swart's violent actions towards his wife."
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