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Judgment in the case of Tazne van Wyk enters day two

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The verdict in the case of Moyhdian Pangkaeker, accused of kidnapping, rape and murder of 8-year-old Tazne van Wyk, is expected to be handed down on Wednesday in the High Court in Cape Town.

The little girl from Elsies River went missing from her parent’s home two years ago. Her body was found dumped in a stormwater drain in the Boland days later.

Acting Judge Alen Maher started his lengthy judgment on Monday. The judge recapped the evidence from the state as well as from the defense.

The state had 37 witnesses while the defense only had the accused as a witness.

Pangkaeker faces 27 charges.

 

The judge continued to read the evidence of the state witnesses who testified, including evidence from a cellphone telecommunications expert, forensic pathology expert and the witnesses who allegedly last saw van Wyk in her last moments on the 7th of February in 2020, with the accused.

A witness from Van Wyk’s hometown of Elsies River and a taxi driver told the court how they saw the accused, wearing a pink shirt, boarding a taxi with the young girl from Elsie’s River, travelling towards Parow.

The driver said the accused did not chat with the young girl inside the taxi but had put her hand on his lap.
Further evidence came from a pair, who allegedly gave a lift to the accused and Van Wyk near Parow, to the garage on the N1 near Worcester.

A police forensic officer had testified that Tazne had several fractures on her head, ribs and arms, which are likely to have been caused by a severe blow from a blunt object.

The court heard that the child could have been alive when the force was inflicted as evidenced by the flow of blood.

The judgment continues.

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