Man accused of trying to kill girlfriend’s son in court

THE PROMISED Land resident accused of trying to kill his girlfriend’s 15-month-old son after she took too long to let him into her house, made a brief appearance in the Galeshewe Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The accused, 35-year-old Daniel van Schalkwyk, is facing a charge of attempted murder and will remain in custody for the duration of his trial.

Magistrate Conrad Prinsloo yesterday ruled that his release would be an “abortion of justice”.

In her statement to the police, read to the court by the prosecution during the accused’s bail application, the mother of the victim said that she and her child had been sleeping at their home in Promised Land in the early afternoon of Saturday, May 27 when she heard someone knocking at the door.

The mother claimed that upon opening the door, she found the accused, who was furious at how long it had taken his girlfriend to open the door, and he demanded that she give him food.

According to the mother’s statement, the accused was extremely aggressive and lost his temper when the commotion woke the sleeping child.

It is alleged that Van Schalkwyk then ordered the child to be silent (“hou jou bek”), claimed not to love the child and blamed the infant for complications he was having in his relationship with the mother.

It is further alleged that Van Schalkwyk ordered his girlfriend to put down the child when she tried to console him.

Still distraught, the accused again ordered the child to be silent before tying him up and beating him with a belt.

A medical examination found that the 15-month-old had sustained bruises to his leg and scratches to his head.

Van Schalkwyk will be back in the Galeshewe Magistrate’s Court next month after the matter was postponed yesterday.