FORMER Goodwood police station commander Siphiwo Hewana was yesterday found guilty of defeating the ends of justice in a charge involving former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni.
FORMER Goodwood police station commander Siphiwo Hewana was yesterday found guilty of defeating the ends of justice in a charge involving former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni.
Magistrate Elsa van Zyl, at the request of defence attorney Greg Duncan, postponed sentencing until February 8 in the Parow regional court.
The trial of Hewana, pictured, stems from Yengeni's arrest for drunken driving in November 2007.
To protect Yengeni, Hewana ordered the two arresting police officials to change the time of Yengeni's arrest from the early hours to 9pm that night.
At the time, Yengeni was on parole and required to be in his home before 9pm. Hewana also intercepted Yengeni's blood sample and left it in an unlocked drawer of his desk rather than in a locked safe in accordance with police regulations.
Because of this, Yengeni's blood sample was not sent for forensic analysis to determine its level of alcohol. This led to Yengeni escaping a charge of drunk driving. Hewana initially faced two additional charges of conspiracy to commit perjury and interfering with police officials in the execution of their duties.
However, Van Zyl said the additional counts amounted to an unfair duplication of the charges. Hewana's defence was that there was a conspiracy against him and all nine of the state's witnesses were part of it. Van Zyl rejected this.
She said the state witnesses had been honest and that the totality of their testimony had been logical and convincing. Among the witness were the two police constables, Charles Japhta and Jeremy Voskui, who had arrested Yengeni. - Sapa
Yengeni cover-up cop found guilty
FORMER Goodwood police station commander Siphiwo Hewana was yesterday found guilty of defeating the ends of justice in a charge involving former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni.
FORMER Goodwood police station commander Siphiwo Hewana was yesterday found guilty of defeating the ends of justice in a charge involving former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni.
Magistrate Elsa van Zyl, at the request of defence attorney Greg Duncan, postponed sentencing until February 8 in the Parow regional court.
The trial of Hewana, pictured, stems from Yengeni's arrest for drunken driving in November 2007.
To protect Yengeni, Hewana ordered the two arresting police officials to change the time of Yengeni's arrest from the early hours to 9pm that night.
At the time, Yengeni was on parole and required to be in his home before 9pm. Hewana also intercepted Yengeni's blood sample and left it in an unlocked drawer of his desk rather than in a locked safe in accordance with police regulations.
Because of this, Yengeni's blood sample was not sent for forensic analysis to determine its level of alcohol. This led to Yengeni escaping a charge of drunk driving. Hewana initially faced two additional charges of conspiracy to commit perjury and interfering with police officials in the execution of their duties.
However, Van Zyl said the additional counts amounted to an unfair duplication of the charges. Hewana's defence was that there was a conspiracy against him and all nine of the state's witnesses were part of it. Van Zyl rejected this.
She said the state witnesses had been honest and that the totality of their testimony had been logical and convincing. Among the witness were the two police constables, Charles Japhta and Jeremy Voskui, who had arrested Yengeni. - Sapa
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos