YACOOB J
[175] The next factor to consider is whether there was a simultaneous omission and
commission. There was none. Mr van Wyk was not on duty. Nor had he, in his
capacity as a policeman, offered Ms F safe conveyance home. The absence of a
special duty leads inevitably to the conclusion that a simultaneous commission and
omission was non-existent.
[176] An important factor to bear in mind in this regard is the nature of Mr van Wyk‘s
employment. It is true that he was a policeman. But there are many, many police
personnel who perform a variety of duties. It is important to assess the sufficiency of
the connection by paying due attention to the precise nature of his employment. Mr
van Wyk was not employed to perform public order maintenance functions nor was it
his particular job to ensure the safety of the public.
His work entailed the
investigation of cases after dockets had been made by one or other of his colleagues.
[177] In the circumstances I conclude that there was not a sufficient connection
between Mr van Wyk‘s heinous deeds and his employment with the South African
Police Service as a crime investigator. It is undoubtedly so that the police service in
our country must be structured so that the police are sufficiently well chosen and well
trained to ensure that this kind of wrongful conduct is minimised. I fear however that
evil conduct by police officers can never be completely eliminated. But the absence
of sufficient training and careful choice have not been mooted in this case as factors
relevant to the sufficiency of the link.
73
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents