Outstanding medical records delay Ermelo farmer’s bail hearing

The bail application of a farmer facing two counts of attempted murder and one of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm has been postponed to Tuesday while the Ermelo magistrate’s court waits for medical reports.

On July 15, Louis Grobler allegedly chased three children he suspected of stealing mielies. He is accused of purposefully hitting two of them with his bakkie before catching and allegedly assaulting the third. The children are aged 10, 11 and 13.

With the section of Ermelo’s Jan van Riebeeck Street that runs between the local police station and the magistrate’s court cordoned off with police tape on Friday morning and members of the police’s public order unit visible, a casual observer might have expected a violent explosion of protests.

Early in proceedings on Friday, advocate Werner Jungbluth — son of the instructing attorney, Mario — also referred the court to the manner in which similar violent protests had put the town of Mkhondo (formerly Piet Retief) under siege for more than two months after emotions ran high during a bail application in a much-publicised murder case.

“The protests in Piet Retief brought the town to a complete standstill. For the first time in my career I had to be transported to court in an armoured vehicle,” he said.

Outside court, however, a small group of 50-odd protesters seemed peaceful and more intent on harmonising in protest song, while the real battle was fought inside court.

Jungbluth said bail was nonetheless granted in the matter on appeal after the application was initially turned down.

“The court must treat the applicant as being innocent until proven guilty.”

He referenced several incidences of case law where the possibility of protests did not change the outcome of bail proceedings.

“While the onus in a schedule 5 case rests on the applicant to satisfy the court that he will appear to stand trial, the onus is on the state to prove exceptional circumstances of violence erupting should bail be granted, to deny bail.”

Jungbluth argued that the state’s case was solely based on hearsay evidence of the three minor children.

“Over the years there has been a huge misconception under the public that bail applications must be treated the same as the actual trial.”

Jungbluth said there was a huge difference in the standard that must be passed.

“In trial you have to prove your case beyond any reasonable doubt, while in a bail application the balance of probabilities are weighed.”

A major point of contention was the lack of J-88 forms. J-88s are medical reports that show and explain the injuries sustained by the victim in an alleged crime.

“The state will tell you that they already said on Monday that they were not ready to commence with a bail application but under the constitution a defendant has a right to speedy proceedings enshrined.”

He said the applicant had a spotless criminal history, with no other pending charges.

Jungbluth claimed that during cross-examination in an appearance earlier in the week, the investigating officer had become argumentative and did not answer “yes or no questions”.

“At a stage in proceedings when he was asked to answer questions with 'yes' or 'no', he would start his answer with ‘however’.”

Jungbluth wanted to know from the court which of the two versions was more plausible: “That a man with no criminal history is involved in an unfortunate incident where three minor children are injured, or that the same man with no history of violence uses his vehicle as an instrument to assault the children with?”

He said Grobler was not a flight risk.

“He owns several assets and is a trustee of a trust that also owns several assets. All these assets are in the Ermelo district. Mr Grobler cannot afford to forfeit his bail amount — unspecified as it is at present — or to live the life of a fugitive from justice.”

Prosecutor Portia Masombuka said the state had a strong prima facie case.

“The accused’s lawyer claims the state’s case is merely hearsay but they still haven’t clarified the injuries to the third child. She claims she was assaulted by the accused with his fist and kicked all over her body,” she said.

Masombuka complained that they were still waiting for the J-88 forms.

“During Monday’s appearance we said the state was not ready to continue with a bail application but the defence wanted to go forward.”

She said she was told the reports would be ready by Friday.

The magistrate ruled the application would resume once “the court is notified that the J-88s are available” and postponed the case to Tuesday.

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