Precedent set in Bay court

IN a first for South Africa, foetal alcohol syndrome has been ruled a mitigating circumstance in a sexual offence, with a child rapist escaping a life sentence as a result.

Fernando Diamond, 22, a selfconfessed member of the 28s prison gang and serial housebreaker, was sentenced to 22 years behind bars on Friday after the judge ruled that his foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) had played a big enough role to hand down a more lenient sentence.

Diamond had been found guilty of raping a seven-year-old girl.