S v Olyn

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Judge: Hiemstra J
• Judgment Date: 24 November 1981
• Citation: 1982 (3) SA 31 (B)
• Hearing Date: 24 November 1981
• Court: Bophuthatswana Supreme Court

Hiemstra CJ:

The accused was found guilty of assault with intent to do A grievous bodily harm, and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment. It is a bad case of assault, because the complainant was struck in the face with a tomahawk. The accused first used an iron rod, was dispossessed of it, and then took the tomahawk.

The accused has two previous convictions for assault with intent. The previous one was in 1979 and on that occasion a sentence of six months' B imprisonment was imposed, wholly suspended for three years. He broke the condition of suspension by committing another assault with a dangerous weapon.

The magistrate put the suspended sentence into operation but ordered it to run concurrently with the six months imposed by him for the renewed offence. On a query he says he did not want to lay a term of 12 months C on the accused, who is still 'a very young man, aged only 24 years'. This young man began his career of crime in 1969, when he was 12. Twice in that year he was sentenced to strokes for theft, and this is his third conviction for assault.

The meaning of suspended sentences disappears if they are not put into D operation, in a case like this, where the condition was flagrantly breached. The people already believe that when a person gets a suspended sentence he is not punished at all, and a decision like this confirms that erroneous belief.

It is important to bear in mind that the court has a discretion whether E to put a suspended sentence into operation or not. One gets cases where it would be harsh to put it into operation. The condition of suspension might be breached only very slightly, for instance by way of an insignificant assault like a smack in the face. Or the renewed offence could be committed right at the end of a long suspension term like five years. The court might then justifiably think it is 'hard lines' to put F the suspended sentence into operation. If a magistrate thinks it would be too harsh to put a suspended sentence into operation, he can follow one of three courses:

(i...