The attempted murder case against former Springbok rugby player James Dalton was struck from a Pretoria court roll on Monday.
He can now only be prosecuted again for this alleged offence once the state is issued with a certificate from the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
Dalton handed himself over to police on November 23 last year after his wife, Andrea, alleged he tried to kill her.
She claimed the 35-year-old accused from Silver Lakes attempted to drown her in a bath and tried to smother her with a dress.
Mrs Dalton has since been put in a place of safety by security expert Mike Bolhuis.
On Monday the court refused another postponement. State prosecutor Paul du Plessis then requested to provisionally withdraw the charge against Dalton, as Mrs Dalton could not be traced for further statements needed to make a decision regarding the prosecution of the accused.
”We have no idea where the complainant is. The investigating officer gave a statement that he tried several times to find her, but without success.
”We have no information on whether she has left the country or not,” he explained.
Defence lawyer Nikky Mitchell objected, saying they wanted the matter struck from the roll.
”The complainant is not cooperating. They will just bring my client to court week after week and his reputation will be more tarnished. It is also to his financial prejudice,” she said, adding that the two parties would start with divorce proceedings soon.
Mitchell said either the complainant had lost interest in this case or had no grounds to continue with it.
Magistrate Lynn Pillay commented on Du Plessis’s honesty and integrity for playing open cards with the court, adding: ”I cannot understand why it is taking so long to get a supplementary statement.”
She said it appeared there was some kind of ”malicious reason” why the complainant’s statement was not yet at court and that the court could not ignore the accused’s position.
The case therefore was struck off the roll. — Sapa