A Bangladeshi national who stabbed and killed his wife in the presence on their minor children has been sentenced to an effective 25 years in jail.
Abdul Salam, 41, was sentenced in the Western Cape High Court on Friday morning.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Salam “viciously stabbed” his wife, on March 4, 2021, while she was seated in the driver’s seat of her car.
The couple’s minor children witnessed the attack.
Western Cape NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the court heard that the couple’s marriage was wrought with arguments.
“On the day on the incident, the couple visited the Wynberg police station to seek counselling from the police on their disputes,” Ntabazalila said.
“They left after consulting with a police officer, but the wife abruptly stopped the vehicle in Ottery Road, Wynberg, leading to a minor accident.”
Salam allegedly argued that he felt threatened by his wife, as he had seen her carrying a knife in her bag, and confronted her that she wanted to kill him.
“He claimed not to remember the argument between him and the deceased, that he remembered her pushing his hand away and then he unbuckled his seat belt. He could not remember what happened in between, then he recalled the child crying and tyres screeching and him exiting the vehicle with the knife,” Ntabazalila said.
“The accused said he realised after the fact that he must have stabbed the deceased, but he did not remember doing so and always denied stabbing the deceased.”
The State argued that Salam had pre-meditated the murder of his wife and that she was vulnerable while driving the vehicle.
However, the court rejected pre-meditated murder and found him guilty of murder.
In passing judgment, the court found that gender-based violence and femicide were ongoing and a long-term imprisonment was an appropriate sentence.
“The court found he was not prone to violence and had no previous cases or convictions, but it was of the view that long-term imprisonment was appropriate. The court found it was not a case where the accused needed to be moved out of society forever,” said Ntabazalila.
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