5
complainant and Mrs B, the appellant slept over at their home quite frequently,
usually in the youngest son’s (A’s) room where there were bunkbeds.
[7] The appellant was generous to the children, and to the complainant in particular,
bringing them sweets and other gifts. The whole family was fond of the appellant, as
he was of them. At that stage, the family was experiencing serious financial problems
and the appellant lent not insubstantial sums of money to both Mr and Mrs B for
various purposes. When he resumed practising as a dentist in Randfontein in
December 1998, the appellant rendered dental services free of charge to one of Mrs
B’s friends, who was a single mother with three dependants. With the knowledge and
approval of the parents, he sometimes took the complainant or A or both of them on
various outings.
[8] The complainant testified that the indecent acts to which the appellant subjected
him started at the end of 1997, when the complainant was 14 years old and in standard
six. As far as count 1 is concerned, the complainant’s evidence was that, some time
during the period January to April 1998, the appellant had to drive a tour bus very late
one night to Hoedspruit to pick up a tour group at the Eastgate Airport. The
complainant accompanied him. They arrived at their destination in the early hours of
the morning and, while they were waiting for the tour group to arrive, the appellant
came to sit next to the complainant in the bus and once again started to touch his
private parts on top of his trousers. The appellant then put his hand under the
complainant’s underpants and masturbated him. He then pulled open the zip of his
own trousers, took out his penis, placed the complainant’s hand on it and performed a
masturbating action, with his hand over the complainant’s. At some stage the
complainant took his hand away but the appellant simply replaced it and the
masturbation continued. This stopped when the tour group arrived and the appellant
then drove the tour bus as the group was taken on a short tour through Mpumalanga.
[9] The events forming the basis of count 2 allegedly happened that same night.
Because of some defect in the tour bus, the appellant and the complainant had to
spend the night with the tour group at the Casa da Sol Hotel in Mpumalanga, while
waiting for another bus to be sent. According to the complainant, he and the appellant
had to share a room with a double bed, where appellant once again started fondling