Should parents take a fall for their children's crimes?
JOHANNESBURG - A 12-year-old child in Brakpan, on the East Rand is alleged to have stolen his parent's car, ran a stop sign, and killed a 14-year-old pedestrian, before crashing into a house wall.
The child has since been taken into custody, accompanied by his guardian.
In South Africa, children can be held criminally responsible for their actions.
According to the Child Justice Act, children aged 12 and older are considered to have the capacity to commit a crime and may face prosecution.
South African common law further states that parents are generally not held liable for crimes committed by their children, unless it can be proven that the parents used the child as a tool to commit the crime.
Typically, children who commit crimes are sent to juvenile detention facilities focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
This tragic incident has sparked public debate: Who should be held accountable, the parent or the child?
South Africans have mixed reactions to this.
Some believe children must take responsibility for their own actions, especially if they are of prosecutable age.
Others argue that parents should bear responsibility.
@JacksShongwe says, 'Accountability should be shared. Minors must take age-appropriate responsibility for their actions, but parents also play a crucial role, as their guidance, supervision, and environment significantly influence a child's behaviour. Each case should be assessed individually'.
@TashyRR says, 'This should be based on the crime & circumstances involved but if they are teens then majority of crimes can be understood by the teen him/herself in which case I'd say juvenile court can try them out as individuals with their parents/guardians as onlookers'.
@NoozBebe_ says, 'This needs to be on a case by case basis. There are many homes where the parents work far from home and are never there to guide their children on weekdays. These kids sometimes fall into the hands of wayward adults who teach them and employ them to do their dirty work. In each case, the kids will lead you to the bad adult. There's always a bad adult behind every kid's crime'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
22 minutes ago
- Eyewitness News
Presiding Judge in Meyiwa trial willing to recuse himself if lawyers believe he's biased
PRETORIA - The presiding judge in the Senzo Meyiwa trial has invited lawyers in the matter to apply for his recusal if they believe he is unfit to run the trial Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng made an extensive apology for the race-based comments he made in court last week. As he rebuked a lawyer for asking for time off to run the comrades marathon, Mokgotlheng made comments about black lawyers and South Africa being run by blacks. The judge has since apologised for the comments. ALSO READ: If Judge Mokgoatlheng recuses himself from the trial, the matter would have to start from scratch for a third time, and a third judge would be appointed to preside. On Monday, Judge Mokgoatlheng, who has come under fire for his race-based comments, apologised and also extended an invitation to the lawyers before him. 'If you believe that I, as a judge, am so useless, dumb, and you think you can't get a fair trial from me, please tell me, I will recuse myself. I don't want to impose myself on people who doubt my integrity, honour and dignity.' Judge Mokgoatlheng, who has been accused of being racist, gave a detailed apology for his comments and went to great lengths to give reasons why he is not. 'If I trampled on anybody's toes because of my racism, despite being in adherence to the Freedom Charter of 1955, I was there in Kliptown with my father, I wish to apologise for being a racist. I will try and mend my ways,but I can tell you, it's not a conscious thing about me to be a racist.' He extended his apology to all South Africans, all judges, and in particular, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya.
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Father sentenced to 35 years for exploiting his children
A Cape Winelands father created child pornography using his minor daughters and infant son for financial gain. The court sentenced him to 35 years in prison. The court found the 27-year-old man guilty of multiple charges. These include trafficking in persons, rape, creating and benefiting from child pornography, possessing and distributing pornographic material, and child abuse. The state withheld the man's name to protect the identity of his daughters aged six and four and son aged one. The man married the mother of his children in March 2018. He stayed home and cared for them because he was unemployed. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said 'He subscribed to a social media application with instant messaging where one can transmit and receive messages, photos, and videos. Users can communicate privately with other users or in groups. The social media platform users can send photographs taken within the application. Which indicates to other users a picture was taken in real time and not imported from a camera roll.' 'He decided to create child pornography for financial gain. As the conversion rate at the time was R18 to the dollar. He connected with the group after the administrative user approved his access to the group, and he started to communicate with the administrative user.' Ntabazalila said he made pornographic content of his biological children and admitted to selling an 'unknown amount of child pornography to unknown users for $5 (R88.9) to $10 (R177.8).' An undercover FBI task force officer from the Washington field office was part of the FBI child exploitation and human trafficking task force. The officer shared information about the man's activities with South African police. Police then arrested him on 30 May 2023 and confiscated his cellphone. Senior state advocate Evadne Kortje finalised the plea and sentencing agreement. She said the accused sexually exploited children whose innocence should have been protected and preserved at all costs. 'He communicated and joined the social media application to connect with individuals interested in child pornography. He downloaded child pornography from other unknown collectors and other hands-on child sexual abuse offenders. Then he abused his parental privilege and the trust relationship he had towards his three small children. Regional court magistrate Gangadu emphasised the inescapable reality of the increasing prevalence of the abuse of modern technology to exploit our children,' said Ntabazalila. The Paarl Regional Court sentenced the man to 35 years of direct imprisonment and ordered him to serve two-thirds of the sentence before he becomes eligible for parole. The court will enter his name into the national register for sexual offenders. The court declared him unfit to work with children or to possess a firearm. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
Missing Comrades Marathon runner: NEW info comes to light
The Comrades Marathon runner who went missing after completing Sunday's 'down run' was found by construction workers in a hypothermic state on Monday around 07:30 – some 15 hours after she crossed the finish line. Moira Harding, 54, who was competing in the colours of Fish Hoek Athletic Club in the Western Cape, was found near the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) base in The Point, Durban. The base is situated roughly 7km from the new Comrades Marathon finish on Masabalala Yengwa Avenue at People's Park. The workers initially thought she was out training, but soon realised she was in fact in distress. Harding, who lives in Kommetjie, took a respectable 10:52:03 to complete the 89.98km run, well inside the 12-hour cut-off. At the time of publishing it remains unclear how Harding ended up near the NSRI base, although reports indicate that she is a good friend of one of the station commanders at the base and that it was possible that she could have been walking there to find a safe space. She was found lying on her back in a semi-conscious state and hypothermic having been out in the cold the whole night. Garrith Jamieson, spokesperson for ALS Paramedics, provided a key update. Jamieson said a few 'leads' were followed. In providing an update on her condition, he said: 'It had a lot to do with temperature, she had just finished a marathon, a very long run, and your body is already tired. Then with the weather and being outside all night, anyone would be cold, especially with the rain. 'She was extremely cold, hypothermic, which leads to a further state of confusion.' He added that Harding would have been sent to St Augustine's Hospital, but due to the seriousness of her condition, a helicopter was called in and she was taken to Umhlanga Netcare Hospital. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
