The elder brother of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been charged over a deadly road crash five years ago, the family confirmed yesterday.
“Carl Pistorius, brother of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, faces charges of culpable homicide after a 2008 road accident in which a woman motorcyclist sadly lost her life,” the family said in a statement.
His trial had been due to start on Thursday, a day before his Olympic and Paralympic hero brother was granted bail on a charge of premeditated murder over the Valentine’s Day killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Photo: EPA
However, his case has been adjourned to the end of next month, meaning he will likely go on trial before his younger brother.
The 28-year-old Carl “deeply regrets” the incident, the family said. “It was a tragic road accident after the deceased collided with Carl’s car.”
He had no alcohol in his blood at the time of the accident, according to tests, the family said.
Prosecutors reinstated the charges after they were initially dropped.
Attorney Kenny Oldwage, who also represents Oscar Pistorius, had “no doubt” Carl was innocent, the statement said.
The eNews Africa television channel reported the accident happened in Vereeneging 60km south of Johannesburg.
Oscar Pistorius, the 26-year-old double amputee athlete known as “Blade Runner,” was released on 1 million rand (US$112,770) bail on Friday. He is due back in court on June 4.
Meanwhile, City Press said a substance found in Oscar Pistorius’ luxury Pretoria home during a police search was an over-the-counter herbal sexual stimulant.
The prosecution had said during his bail hearing that police found two boxes of “testosterone” and needles, but the defense countered that it was a legal herbal remedy known as testocompasutium coenzyme.
City Press said the remedy was a combination of vitamins and herbal cures partly derived from animal organs.
Sports physician Jon Patricios told the paper the product is used to boost sexual energy, but that athletes are not advised to use it since it may increase their testosterone levels.
“This is not an anabolic steroid and it is unlikely it will lead to irrational anger,” he said.
South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper said a new investigation team would investigate Oscar Pistorius’ apparent links with a network that used recreational drugs.
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland
SECURITY: Grassroots civil servants would only need to disclose their travel, while those who have access to classified information would be subject to stricter regulations The government is considering requiring legislators and elected officials to obtain prior approval before traveling to China to prevent Chinese infiltration, an official familiar with national security said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) in March announced 17 measures to counter China’s growing infiltration efforts, including requiring all civil servants to make trips to China more transparent so they can be held publicly accountable. The official said that the government is considering amending the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to require all civil servants to follow strict regulations before traveling to China.
RSS