THREE people accused of painting a 14-year-old girl white after accusing her of shoplifting will be tried in the Louis Trichardt Regional Court in March next year. Former Pep Stores manager Thelma Strydom and two colleagues, Julia Munyai and Albert Mbezi, have not been asked to plead on charges of assault, theft and crimen injuria. Strydom and Mbezi were dismissed from Pep Stores after an internal disciplinary hearing on September 1 found them guilty of “flagrantly” violating company procedures. Munyai, who allegedly caught the girl stealing underwear on August 29 but did not paint her, was exonerated of all internal disciplinary charges. – African Eye News Service