THE Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has reserved judgment in the police's appeal against a ruling ordering them to pay former murder accused Fred van der Vyver damages for malicious prosecution following his acquittal in 2007.
He had been charged with killing his girlfriend at the time, Inge Lotz, in her Stellenbosch flat.
Inge's father, medical professor Jan Lotz, practised in Port Elizabeth for some time before the family moved to Cape Town. Van der Vyver's family hails from Queenstown.
The case was heard by some of the country's most senior appeal court judges, Judge Fritz Brand, former Eastern Cape Judges Eric Leach and Ronnie Pillay and Judges Leona Theron and Stephen Majiedt.
The legal team for the South African Police Service has asked the SCA to set aside Judge Anton Veldhuizen's ruling that they are liable for Van der Vyver's damages, which could be as much as R46-million. – Estelle Ellis
