- S v Paulse 2022 (2) SACR 451, dated 29 July 2022 (WCC)

Ms Kim Paulse, the accused, was convicted by the magistrates' court in Cape Town ("the trial court") on two counts of contravening section 4(b) of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992. The accused who was not legally represented, pleaded guilty to both counts.

Accordingly, both counts were taken together for the purpose of sentence which amounted to a fine of R3000 or 90 days' incarceration which was entirely and conditionally suspended for a period of five years.

In terms of section 302 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 ("the CPA"), this matter was referred to the High Court in Cape Town for automatic review ("the review court").

In analysing the evidence as presented before the trial court, the review court referred to the section 112(1)(b) of the CPA proceedings which took place before the trial court. During the said proceedings, the accused admitted that on 6 September 2021, in respect of count 1, she was found in the illegal possession of Mandrax (scientific name: methaqualone) and Tik (scientific name: methamphetamine). The same happened on 19 April 2021 in respect of count 2 - again in illegal possession of Mandrax and Tik.

Note that during an analysis of the section 112(1)(b) of the CPA proceedings, the magistrate, as a result of the query by the review court, conceded that he based his findings of being in illegal possession of Mandrax and Tik, on the admissions made by the accused. Phrased differently: NO expert evidence to prove that the "Mandrax" and "Tik" concerned are in fact what the State/prosecution alleges it to be.

After this, the review court referred to several similar, relevant case law, namely that expert evidence is in fact, virtually always, required in such cases - despite the plea of guilty - and where the accused is not legally represented.

In the result, the review court set aside both convictions and both sentences which means that the accused is in fact found not guilty and discharged.

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[This is an extract of a court case published in Pollex in Servamus: March 2023. If you are interested in reading the rest of the discussion, send an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or a WhatsApp or SMS message to: 078 712 1745 to find out what you need to do to acquire the article. Ed.]