State v Cloete

The defendant was convicted of housebreaking with an intent to murder and murder read with the provisions of the Combating Domestic Violence Act 4 of 2003. The defendant and the deceased were in a domestic relationship and had a child together. There was no dispute that at the time of the incident while the defendant killed the deceased by stabbing her at least eight times. The court held that although the defendant was a first-time offender, the serious crime of violence against women was on the rise across the country; the sentence must send a clear message to society that such behavior cannot be tolerated or condoned. The defendant was sentenced to 32 years imprisonment.

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