Man ‘wanted to see someone die’
A man who allegedly wanted to “see a person dying” and his accomplice have jailed for life for killing a Marburg man.
|||Durban – Two men – one of whom who wanted to “see a person dying” – were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Ramsgate High Court, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Friday.
KwaZulu-Natal NPA spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Jean Pierre Haggard, 25, and Riaan Marais, 27, were sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday for murdering and robbing Pradeeb Mahabeer.
The two men had initially denied being responsible for Mahabeer’s death in the Marburg area outside Port Shepstone in July last year.
“However, upon conviction they told the court that they wanted to give an account of what happened. They said that accused one [Haggard] had told his co-accused that he would like to see a person dying. Accused two [Marais] suggested that the person be Mr Mahabeer, as he [Marais] had a vendetta against him. They then went to the deceased’s home and killed him.”
The two men told the court they had disclosed this information because they wanted to give closure to Mahabeer’s family.
After they killed Mahabeer, they stole several items from his house, including a cellphone, video camera, CCTV camera, a glucose level tester, and a television set.
They fled the crime scene in Mahabeer’s car and dumped his body in the Umkomaas area, about 80km north of Marburg. Each man was sentenced to life for Mahabeer’s murder and 10 years for robbery.
Ramkisson-Kara said KwaZulu-Natal Director of Public Prosecutions Moipone Noko had welcomed the sentence.
African News Agency
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