Man gets supervision for fatal crash
required to do 16 hours of community service a month.
He has to stay away from strong alcohol and drugs and must report to the Commissioner of Correctional Services if he changes his address.
“If an official from correctional services visits you at home, you must be there,” Smith warned Boshoff.
He stated, however, that the conditions of the sentence could be adapted by the commissioner to suit the personal interests of Boshoff, for example to allow him to attend classes at university or church.
“The Commissioner of Correctional Services must ensure that he carries out his sentence and if he breaks any of the conditions, it can be withdrawn and he will have to serve his sentence in jail.”
In handing down the sentence, Smith pointed out that there was so much emotion involved in the case.
“When I read in the report of the social worker what the parents of the deceased had to go through, I literally get cold shivers. It is never easy to lose a child and for parents it is the most difficult thing to have to go through. What is even more difficult is when you are sitting at home and you get that phone call to say that your child has been killed.”
He added that there was nothing the court could do to bring back the two children, who lives had been lost.
“What we have to do is walk together through this situation. We will never get over the heart- ache involved but we must also not for one minute think that the accused has also not been affected.”
He said that, as the presiding officer, he needed to look at the facts in front of him. “Maybe I was hard on the prosecutor in this case, but I expect proof. It doesn’t mean that the court is cold – no one could ever be cold when two people are dead.”
He added that he did not live in a glass house and even as a magistrate, he had to put himself in other people’s shoes. “We all make mistakes which can have devastating consequences, whether it is speeding, breaking traffic rules or being absent-minded.”
Smith pointed out that the prisons in South Africa were not always the best place for rehabilitating people.
“Correctional supervision should not be seen as a lighter sentence. Strict conditions can be attached and the sentence can be withdrawn if these conditions are not adhered to.”
Speaking to Boshoff, he said that although the court had sympathy with the parents of the children who had been killed, it didn’t believe that he was a bad person.
“You must use the chance I am giving you. Chara’s mother told this court how she uses special occasions to do something for the community and you will also be required to put back into the community. I want you to take this negative incident and create something positive. In a few years time, you must come back and show us the person you have become.”