Harry jailed for 2 years

FORMER world champion boxer Harry Simon was set to spend his first night behind bars yesterday in connection with the deadly car crash in which three Belgian visitors to Namibia were killed at the coast in late 2002.

Simon was taken off to jail under Police guard after the High Court yesterday revoked the bail of N$10 000 that had guaranteed his continued freedom following his conviction of culpable homicide and the effective two-year prison term that he received in the Walvis Bay Regional Court close to two years ago. Simon’s bail was revoked after he had lost one of the most important fights of his life: his appeal against the conviction and sentenced that he received from Regional Court Magistrate Gert Retief on August 4 2005.Judge Collins Parker and Acting Judge John Manyarara dismissed the appeal against both his conviction and sentence.The Judges also dismissed an appeal against the sentence that was pursued by the State, which wanted a heavier jail term to be imposed on Simon.Simon, the boxer known as ‘The Terminator’ in his world champion days and as ‘The Terrible’ when he returned to the ring after being laid off by the injuries that he suffered in the fatal collision that ended his championship reign, arrived at the High Court dressed to the nines again yesterday, wearing a white open-necked shirt and pin-stripe suit with a long jacket.Having taken his place in the dock, he stood to hear Judge Parker read out the court’s conclusion in its judgement on his appeal and the State’s appeal against the sentence.The 34-year-old Simon still managed a few smiles as he made his way to the courtroom where the judgement was announced.Having heard that he had lost this round and that this meant that the prison sentence that he has been facing for close to two years would be put into operation, he appeared to be in a more sombre mood after the court adjourned.The court’s judgement also means that with his transformation into a prison inmate, the sharply-dressed former World Boxing Organisation junior middleweight champion would have to exchange his smart attire for something much less fashionable: the olive-green garb that serves as inmates’ uniform in Namibia’s prisons.The judgement delivered yesterday is the latest consequence of a horror collision that claimed the lives of three Belgian tourists – a 22-month-old baby, Ibe de Winter, her 31-year-old father, Frederick de Winter, and a 29-year-old mother of two children, Michelle de Clerck – on the evening of November 21 2002.The Belgians were killed in a head-on collision between a Mercedes-Benz ML500 driven by Simon and a rented four-wheel drive Nissan Hardbody Double Cab bakkie on the road between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.Witnesses who were passing the scene moments before the crash happened claimed that Simon’s vehicle was overtaking another car when it smashed into the front end of the Belgians’ bakkie, which was standing still at the Langstrand turn-off, waiting in its correct lane to execute a turn towards Langstrand.Simon did not testify in his own defence at his trial, but claimed in a plea explanation that he was still in his correct lane when the Nissan bakkie “drove unexpectedly and suddenly into the lane wherein I drove”, causing the crash.Two motor vehicle collision reconstruction experts who testified for the prosecution during the trial told the court that they concluded – having made calculations based on the nature of the damage to the two vehicles and the places where the wrecks came to a rest following the crash – that the point of impact where the crash took place was on the side of the road where the Belgians’ bakkie was supposedly standing, waiting at the turn-off.They also calculated that Simon’s vehicle was travelling at great speed – about 160 kilometres an hour according to the one expert, and up to 180 km/h according to the other.The crash took place on a stretch of road where an 80 km/h speed limit was in force, and where a double barrier line on the road surface indicated that no overtaking was allowed.According to an accident expert who testified in Simon’s defence, though, he concluded that the collision most likely took place on the side of the road in which Simon’s vehicle was rightfully travelling.That expert however also conceded to the court that in his opinion Simon’s vehicle was probably travelling at a speed of more than 80 km/h.According to the joint appeal judgement of Judge Parker and Acting Judge Manyarara, Simon’s expert also conceded under cross-examination that the speed of Simon’s vehicle might have been up to 160 km/h.The two Judges stated that they could find no reason to doubt that Magistrate Retief was aware that the function of the expert witnesses was to indicate how, in their opinion, the accident happened and then to draw his own conclusion from all the evidence before him.The Magistrate gave reasons why he accepted the conclusion of the experts who calculated that the point of impact was on the side of the road where the Belgians’ vehicle would have been standing, waiting at the turn-off, the Judges noted.In all, Magistrate Retief had a firm basis to reach the verdict that he did, the Judges concluded.His verdict was based on findings of fact, which his judgement did not give the High Court any reasons to interfere with, they stated.The Judges found that the prosecution had satisfactorily disproved Simon’s defence that the Nissan suddenly encroached on his lane of travel.By not testifying in his own defence to back up his claim about what caused the crash, Simon “did himself an immense disservice by making a bold assertion that he acted in the face of a sudden emergency and then electing not to testify or call the witnesses he had alleged would come and support his version,” the Judges stated.”It was at his peril that the appellant adopted this course because it left it to the State to disprove his defence, which the State succeeded in doing beyond a reasonable doubt,” they stated.Sisa Namandje represented Simon in the appeal.State advocate Eileen Rakow represented the State.Simon’s bail was revoked after he had lost one of the most important fights of his life: his appeal against the conviction and sentenced that he received from Regional Court Magistrate Gert Retief on August 4 2005.Judge Collins Parker and Acting Judge John Manyarara dismissed the appeal against both his conviction and sentence.The Judges also dismissed an appeal against the sentence that was pursued by the State, which wanted a heavier jail term to be imposed on Simon.Simon, the boxer known as ‘The Terminator’ in his world champion days and as ‘The Terrible’ when he returned to the ring after being laid off by the injuries that he suffered in the fatal collision that ended his championship reign, arrived at the High Court dressed to the nines again yesterday, wearing a white open-necked shirt and pin-stripe suit with a long jacket.Having taken his place in the dock, he stood to hear Judge Parker read out the court’s conclusion in its judgement on his appeal and the State’s appeal against the sentence.The 34-year-old Simon still managed a few smiles as he made his way to the courtroom where the judgement was announced.Having heard that he had lost this round and that this meant that the prison sentence that he has been facing for close to two years would be put into operation, he appeared to be in a more sombre mood after the court adjourned.The court’s judgement also means that with his transformation into a prison inmate, the sharply-dressed former World Boxing Organisation junior middleweight champion would have to exchange his smart attire for something much less fashionable: the olive-green garb that serves as inmates’ uniform in Namibia’s prisons.The judgement delivered yesterday is the latest consequence of a horror collision that claimed the lives of three Belgian tourists – a 22-month-old baby, Ibe de Winter, her 31-year-old father, Frederick de Winter, and a 29-year-old mother of two children, Michelle de Clerck – on the evening of November 21 2002.The Belgians were killed in a head-on collision between a Merc
edes-Benz ML500 driven by Simon and a rented four-wheel drive Nissan Hardbody Double Cab bakkie on the road between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.Witnesses who were passing the scene moments before the crash happened claimed that Simon’s vehicle was overtaking another car when it smashed into the front end of the Belgians’ bakkie, which was standing still at the Langstrand turn-off, waiting in its correct lane to execute a turn towards Langstrand.Simon did not testify in his own defence at his trial, but claimed in a plea explanation that he was still in his correct lane when the Nissan bakkie “drove unexpectedly and suddenly into the lane wherein I drove”, causing the crash.Two motor vehicle collision reconstruction experts who testified for the prosecution during the trial told the court that they concluded – having made calculations based on the nature of the damage to the two vehicles and the places where the wrecks came to a rest following the crash – that the point of impact where the crash took place was on the side of the road where the Belgians’ bakkie was supposedly standing, waiting at the turn-off.They also calculated that Simon’s vehicle was travelling at great speed – about 160 kilometres an hour according to the one expert, and up to 180 km/h according to the other.The crash took place on a stretch of road where an 80 km/h speed limit was in force, and where a double barrier line on the road surface indicated that no overtaking was allowed.According to an accident expert who testified in Simon’s defence, though, he concluded that the collision most likely took place on the side of the road in which Simon’s vehicle was rightfully travelling.That expert however also conceded to the court that in his opinion Simon’s vehicle was probably travelling at a speed of more than 80 km/h.According to the joint appeal judgement of Judge Parker and Acting Judge Manyarara, Simon’s expert also conceded under cross-examination that the speed of Simon’s vehicle might have been up to 160 km/h.The two Judges stated that they could find no reason to doubt that Magistrate Retief was aware that the function of the expert witnesses was to indicate how, in their opinion, the accident happened and then to draw his own conclusion from all the evidence before him.The Magistrate gave reasons why he accepted the conclusion of the experts who calculated that the point of impact was on the side of the road where the Belgians’ vehicle would have been standing, waiting at the turn-off, the Judges noted.In all, Magistrate Retief had a firm basis to reach the verdict that he did, the Judges concluded.His verdict was based on findings of fact, which his judgement did not give the High Court any reasons to interfere with, they stated.The Judges found that the prosecution had satisfactorily disproved Simon’s defence that the Nissan suddenly encroached on his lane of travel.By not testifying in his own defence to back up his claim about what caused the crash, Simon “did himself an immense disservice by making a bold assertion that he acted in the face of a sudden emergency and then electing not to testify or call the witnesses he had alleged would come and support his version,” the Judges stated.”It was at his peril that the appellant adopted this course because it left it to the State to disprove his defence, which the State succeeded in doing beyond a reasonable doubt,” they stated.Sisa Namandje represented Simon in the appeal.State advocate Eileen Rakow represented the State.