A FORMER Louis Trichardt Pep Stores manager smiled and hugged her husband when she was acquitted on charges of painting a 14-year-old girl white. Thelma Strydom’s former colleague, Albert Mbezi, also looked relieved when the Louis Trichardt Magistrate’s Court fined him R1 500 as an alternative to a six-year jail sentence suspended for four years. The two were initially charged with crimen injuria and assault after they were accused of painting the girl when she was allegedly caught stealing underwear on August 29 last year. The girl’s mother said she was disappointed with the court’s decision. – Africa Eye News Service