Remember the dogs that escaped from a Jeffreys Bay home in 2018 and injured four people?
The dogs could well land convicted perlemoen poaching kingpin Morne Blignault in even more legal hot water – with prosecutors now deciding whether or not he should be charged following the savage attack.
Blignault’s two pitbulls escaped in August 2018, attacking and injuring four people, three of them seriously.
The dogs also killed another dog in the attack.
While Blignault has not been criminally charged, detectives are still investigating.
Police have since confirmed that he is the prime suspect and the owner of the dogs.
Both dogs have subsequently been put down.
The case has been handed to the National Prosecuting Authority for a decision on how to proceed and whether Blignault – who is serving a 25 year sentence for poaching and racketeering – will face criminal prosecution.
The charge Blignault potentially faces is the contravention of the Animal Matters Amendment Act related to “negligently allowing an animal to cause injury to another person”.
The pit bulls escaped from a property in Kabeljous Road and killed a miniature Yorkshire terrier before turning on its 67-year-old owner and three people who came to her aid.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said Jeffreys Bay detectives had been working on the case since the time of the attack.
“Investigations, in this case, are almost complete.
“The medical record of one of the victims is long outstanding thus causing a delay in finalising the investigation.
“Police detectives made numerous attempts to solicit the victim’s medical records from Greenacres Hospital, where the victim was allegedly treated.
“The last attempt was made on May 10, but a medical record was still not available.”
Nkohli said the docket would be submitted to the public prosecutor on Tuesday for guidance on how to proceed with the case and for a decision to be taken.At the time of the attack, resident Peet Venter said he had responded to cries for help from the owner of two terriers, who was walking her dogs.The pitbulls escaped from the yard and attacked the owner and two terriers.During the attack, one of the terriers was mauled to death.Four people who tried to assist were also injured – three of them seriously.The Humansdorp SPCA – which removed the dogs – confirmed that the pair were put to sleep on the owner’s instructions the day after the attack.Three weeks prior to that attack, the dogs had allegedly escaped and attacked another woman and her German Shepherd.Investigators determined that the dogs were owned by Blignault, who was staying at the house at the time of the attack – while his high court trial was set to get under way.A timeline as to when the state prosecutor would make a decision could not be given.