A farmer accused of running over two children and assaulting a third has told the Ermelo magistrate's court he did not mean to injure them.
Speaking through his lawyer Mario Jungbluth during his bail application on Wednesday, Louis Grobler said: “I categorically deny that I attempted to murder the girls. While I was driving, the victims emerged from nowhere. I applied brakes but they were injured.”
Grobler said he called the police and an ambulance after the incident.
The 41-year-old farmer is alleged to have accused the three children, aged 10, 11 and 13, of stealing mielies on Friday last week. He was arrested on the same day and is facing two counts of attempted murder and one of assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm.
His case was postponed to Friday.
Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the state was opposing bail “due to the seriousness of the offences the accused is charged with. It's a schedule 5 offence.”
Farmer called police, ambulance after 'accident', denies deliberately driving into girls
Father of 10-year-old girl is devastated
A farmer accused of running over two children and assaulting a third has told the Ermelo magistrate's court he did not mean to injure them.
Speaking through his lawyer Mario Jungbluth during his bail application on Wednesday, Louis Grobler said: “I categorically deny that I attempted to murder the girls. While I was driving, the victims emerged from nowhere. I applied brakes but they were injured.”
Grobler said he called the police and an ambulance after the incident.
The 41-year-old farmer is alleged to have accused the three children, aged 10, 11 and 13, of stealing mielies on Friday last week. He was arrested on the same day and is facing two counts of attempted murder and one of assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm.
His case was postponed to Friday.
Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the state was opposing bail “due to the seriousness of the offences the accused is charged with. It's a schedule 5 offence.”
The father of a 10-year-old girl who suffered a broken leg, speaking to TimesLIVE, said he was devastated and the incident had brought pain to the family.
They are not being identified, as children who are victims of crime may not be named.
“I have been experiencing excessive headaches since Friday. The incident has drained me emotionally,” he said.
The farmworker said he saw his daughter in hospital on Tuesday and she was missing school. She is in grade 5. He said he did not know when he would next visit her as he did not have money to travel to the hospital.
“Fortunately, her grandmother went there [to the hospital] yesterday and told me she is recovering.”
SowetanLIVE
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