Two racist cases in court

Swimming coach and cyclist Tim Osrin made a brief appearance at the Wynberg Magistrate's Court yesterday over an alleged attack on domestic worker Cynthia Joni, whom he claimed he mistook for a prostitute.

Joni, 44, broke down in tears after spotting Osrin at court. "I am still shaken up," she wept. The case was postponed to March.

Meanwhile, in another courtroom, SANDF dentist Jan van Tonder made a brief appearance for allegedly beating gardener Muhammed Makungwa with a sjambok in Claremont in November after apparently mistaking him for a thief. The case was postponed to next month.