Civil organisation wants no mercy shown for Alberton parents convicted of killing daughter (2)

The following story contains graphic details pertaining to child abuse.

JOHANNESBURG - Civil organisation Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) has thrown its voice behind the call for the court to show no mercy for an Alberton couple who abused, raped, and ultimately killed their two-year-old daughter.

In June, the High Court sitting in Palm Ridge found Belinda and Stefanus Bezuidenhout guilty of multiple offences, including the murder of their two-year-old little girl, Chane Bezuidenhout.

Arguments on sentencing took place in the High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday, with the State asking for life sentences for both of them. The WMACA wants the same.

"The charges - including assault, child abuse, rape and murder - paint a picture of unimaginable horror,” said the organisation's Miranda Jordan.

“WMACA emphasises the need for a sentence that reflects the severity of these crimes and serves as a catalyst for urgent reform in South Africa’s child protection and judicial systems.”

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Jordan has described as “cold and unfeeling” the figure cut by Belinda when she took the stand in mitigation to sentencing on Wednesday.

The High Court in Johannesburg heard arguments on sentencing, with Belinda taking the stand and continuing to protest her innocence.

Jordan, who attended the proceedings, said she would have expected the 30-year-old to take the court into her confidence and throw herself at its mercy.

“The attitude we got was an unfeeling, cold, unremorseful, un-wanting to go there answer. For me, it felt like a participant who was in a corner.”

The couple is due back in court next week, when the court will hand down their sentence.