Four of the six woman accused of brutally assaulting a fragile 81-year-old in the Silver Village – Assisted Living Facility in Welkom will spend their eighth night in jail, as their formal bail application will now only be determined on Friday.
The bail hearings started on Friday 11 July and no conclusion has yet been reached. The matter has been postponed to Friday 18 July for a pending decision. The first four were arrested on Wednesday
9 July and have remained in custody ever since.
On Wednesday the family of the frail old victim spent their third day in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court, two of which were dedicated to listening to the pros and cons of granting bail to the six accused.
More gruesome acts of cruelty and depravity came to light during the course of the hearing. The state argued that they did not want especially accused number one, Lynette Brummer to be granted bail.
The investigating officer, Warrant Officer Anje Tait, told the court that Brummer had been identified in video footage as the main abuser. The investigating officer told the court that anger towards Brummer and her actions have flooded social media, and that accused number 1’s life could be in danger.
She told the court that Brummer holds a supervisory position. Her presence at the facility could compromise the investigation, witnesses could feel intimidated and not all statements had been taken. She said that the victim is still a resident of the home and needs to be protected against accused number one. The state felt that bail could be granted to accused numbers two to six, but under strict conditions.
The court heard that some 30 videos that depict the violence and assault have been sent to the SAPS Cyber Crime Unit for authentication. “They will write a report for the court. Accused one is seen and heard in 90% of the video footage. You can see she is the senior and that accused two to six react to her commands,” testified Tait.
The defence, Adv. Hendrik Potgieter, offered a strong argument in favour of bail being granted. He said Brummer must get bail, but under strict conditions.
The first four accused were arrested on Wednesday 9 July, and then two additional arrests followed on Monday 14 July.
The accused are Lynette Brummer (64), Anna Fourie (73), Nomsa Ngcongwane (56) and Prudence Majorobella (35), and also Mofolo Ntswaki (30) and Puseleletso Mola (33).
The charges agianst them are attempted murder (a schedule 5 crime), kidnapping (a schedule 6 crime), assault GBH (a schedule 5 crime) and charges under the Old Persons Act 13 of 2006. A new charge of torture has been added.
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