Plea for lighter sentence for drug dealer rejected

The East London regional court has rejected a plea for a lenient sentence for convicted drug dealer Neelon Naidoo, 30, on Thursday.

Naidoo, son of Bhisho Legislature safety and security liaison officer Niel Naidoo, was found guilty of selling cocaine and ecstasy to high school pupils in June.

He was sentenced by regional court magistrate Ignatius Kitching to seven years in prison, two years will be suspended meaning he will spend a effective five years behind bars.

His defence lawyer, Sibuyile Mnyute pleaded with Kitching for a lenient sentence of correctional supervision. “The magistrate misdirected himself in overseeing the interest of community. The accused is currently gainfully employed as a salesperson and it must be taken into account that he is a suitable candidate for correctional supervision. He feels if the case were to be moved under another court it would arrive at another matter regarding sentence.”

However,  state prosecutor Henker Ackerman said: “The court gave a valid judgment and dealt with all the factors applicable so there was no misdirection from the court. In fact, the court has shown a lot of mercy and leniency in this sentence. No other court would come to another decision. So the application for bail should be refused.”

Kitching refused the application. “The court has dealt with this matter and the facts are still fresh. The court has given a long and anxious consideration in passing down judgment. We are living in a society with a serious problem and scourge of drugs. We must impose not only a harsh sentence but robust sentence to show other drug dealers in our society that they will not be tolerated.”