From the outset the case of Mark Scott-Crossley, one of the men who fed Nelson Chisale to lions four years ago, has been racked by controversy and curious developments.

After being released on parole under mysterious circumstances, Scott-Crossley was meant - so we were told - to begin strict correctional supervision at home. As part of his rehabilitation he was to do community service.

But a Sowetan team this week found him strolling around the Acornhoek police station while other parolees were hard at work.

So much for strict parole!

This is the man who was initially jailed for life and then handed a five-year sentence instead by the appeal court through a technicality.

This is the same man who assaulted a prison inmate and got off lightly by paying a fine. Strange that this incident did not deter the parole board from releasing him on parole for good behaviour.

This was before Scott-Crossley had been allowed to jump the parole queue ahead of more than 100 prisoners who qualified to be considered before him.

The law bent over backwards for him - thanks to the prison authorities who made all this possible.

Throughout this saga the Chisale family's heartbreak hasn't really mattered. Nor did it persuade the prison authorities to canvass their penny's worth on Scott-Crossley's proposed release on parole

Suffice to say the Chisale family still feels betrayed by a democracy that prides itself on upholding the rule of law and applying justice fairly and without favour.

We can never fathom the pain felt by the family when it had to bury the few human bones - all that remained of Nelson Chisale after the lions feasted on him.

Still resonant in the family's aching hearts is the reality that it is less barbaric to feed a human corpse to lions than when a person is alive.

That Scott-Crossley's community service at Acornhoek police station has become something of a Sunday picnic is hardly surprising.

But whoever is responsible for this laughable episode of mock justice should face the full wrath of the law