E-Paper
S African Indian girl convicted of murder allowed to take exams
A 14-year-old girl of Indian origin, youngest in South Africa to be convicted for murder, has been allowed to appear for school exams.
A 14-year-old girl of Indian origin, who last week became the youngest in South Africa to be convicted for murder, has been allowed by the educational authorities to appear for her school examinations.
The girl was only 12-and-a-half years when she hatched a plot to murder her socialite grand-mother, 59-year-old Radha Govender of Pietermaritzburg, about 100 km from here.
She was found guilty of hiring two black African men to stab her grand-mother two years ago. The two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The girl, who is currently under her mother's supervision, can write her examinations while the court decides what kind of sentence should be imposed.
A spokesperson for the education department, Sarah Laping, said in terms of the law, the young girl could not be expelled from school.
"If a pupil is expelled from a school for whatever transgression, the pupil can attend another school, because schooling is compulsory," said Lapping.
Meanwhile, the girl's lawyer, Mahendra Ori, is fighting a battle to keep her out of prison. "We will call a law lecturer who has written several books on juvenile offenders to give evidence in mitigation for the girl when the court resumes for sentence on December 13. We also intend calling other experts", Ori said on Friday.
He said they would plead for the girl to be placed under custodial sentence of her mother with official correctional supervision.
