The High Court of South Africa: Western Cape Division has sentenced kidnapper, serial rapist and murderer Moyhdian Pangkaeker to nine life sentences, 28 years, and six months’ imprisonment, following the state’s request, as there were no compelling and substantial circumstances forcing the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentences. The sentence follows Pangkaeker’s conviction on 26 October 2022 on 21 of the 27 charges the state levelled against him. They include eight counts of rape of children, sexual assault and sexual exploitation of children, several counts of assault of children, kidnapping, incest, desecration of a corpse and absconding from parole.
Senior state advocate Lenro Badenhorst gallantly led the charge for justice, but Pangkaeker denied his involvement in any of the crimes, leaving Badenhorst to prove the state’s case beyond any reasonable doubt. During arguments in aggravation he described Pangkaeker as a monster who cannot be tolerated in a civilised community.
He said: “It is submitted that the accused is a repetitive offender who indiscriminately targets young girls for sexual pleasure and therefore his moral blameworthiness is high. The accused should be punished with the most severe punishment possible for his reprehensible actions.
“There are no reasonable prospects of rehabilitation for the accused. He is a danger to society, and a long-term sentence would be an appropriate punishment for the offences.
“The chances of re-offending are very high. He has shown no remorse.”
Pangkaeker has clashed with the law several times, especially in crimes involving children. In 2001, he kidnapped and killed his child. The Belleville Regional Court convicted and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment for culpable homicide and kidnapping (abduction). He was also convicted for the neglect of his child. His notoriety came to the fore following his arrest for the kidnapping, rape, murder, and desecration of the body of eight-year-old Tazné Van Wyk. Her decomposing body was found on the N1 highway in Worcester with her hand missing after she went missing two weeks prior. Police discovered her body on 20 February 2020.
Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Nicolette Bell welcomed the commendable sentence handed down by the court. “Firstly, I want to commend the family, friends, neighbours, and the rest of the community who stood up to assist the police in looking up for Tazné van Wyk. I want to commend those who raised their hands in this fight for justice for all the victims of these heinous crimes and the fight against gender-based violence and femicide. I want to commend those who came forward as witnesses.
“I want to commend the investigation and the prosecution team who worked tirelessly day and night to ensure that we bring justice for these victims, to ensure that the people of this country see that we still have justice in this country.
“We asked for these sentences because we believed that this accused will never be rehabilitated, he is a repeat offender who targeted the most vulnerable in our society. We believed there was no proper sentence than long-term imprisonment. We are much happy that the court ordered that the judgement and sentence judgment be included in the file to be sent to the Department of Correctional Services so that these sentences can be considered when he applies for parole.”
