CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE ACT
(b) the times and places at which, and the persons to whom, the witness shall personally
present himself;
(c) the places where the witness is forbidden to go;
(d) the prohibition of communication by the witness with the accused or any other witness;
(e) any other matter relating to the conduct of the witness.
(4) Any recognizance entered into in terms of this section shall specify the forenames and
surname of the person entering into it, his occupation or profession, if any, the place of his
residence and the name and number, if any, of the street in which that place is, and whether he
is an owner or tenant thereof or a lodger therein.
(5) Any recognizance entered into in terms of this section shall be liable to be estreated in the
same manner as any forfeited recognizance is by law liable to be estreated by the court before
which the principal party thereto was bound to appear.
235 Absconding witnesses
(1) When any person is bound by recognizance to give evidence or is likely to give material
evidence before any court in respect of any offence, any magistrate may, upon information in
writing and on oath that such person is about to abscond or has absconded, issue a warrant for
the arrest of such person.
(2) If any person is arrested under a warrant issued in terms of subsection (1), any magistrate, if satisfied that the ends of justice would otherwise be defeated, may commit him to a
prison until the time at which he is required to give evidence, unless in the meantime he produces sufficient sureties, but such person shall be entitled on demand to receive a copy of the
information upon which the warrant for arrest was issued.
(3) If a peace officer believes on reasonable grounds that the delay in obtaining a warrant
under subsection (1) would lead to a person who is bound by recognizance to give evidence or
who is likely to give material evidence in respect of any offence absconding, he may arrest the
person without warrant and shall, as soon as possible, bring him before a magistrate who may,
upon being satisfied that the ends of justice would otherwise be defeated, commit the person to
prison until the time at which he is required to give evidence, unless in the meantime he produces sufficient sureties.
(4) A person arrested in terms of subsection (3) shall be informed forthwith by the person
arresting him of the cause of the arrest
236 Committal of witness who refuses to enter into recognizance
Any witness who refuses to enter into any recognizance in terms of section two hundred and
thirty-four may be committed by the court by warrant to the prison for the place where the trial
is to be held, there to be kept until after the trial or until the witness enters into such a recognizance before a magistrate having jurisdiction in the place where the prison is situated:
Provided that, if the accused is afterwards discharged, any magistrate having jurisdiction
shall order such witness to be discharged.
237 Arrest and punishment for failure to obey subpoena or to remain in
attendance
(1) If any person subpoenaed to attend a criminal trial without reasonable excuse fails to
obey the subpoena and it appears from the return or from the evidence given under oath that the
subpoena was served upon the person to whom it is directed, or if any person who has attended
in obedience to a subpoena fails to remain in attendance, the judge or magistrate may issue a
warrant directing that such person be arrested and brought at a time and place stated in the
warrant, or as soon thereafter as possible, before him or some other judge or magistrate.
(2) When a person has been arrested under a warrant issued in terms of subsection (1), he
may be detained thereunder before the judge or magistrate who issued it or in any prison or
lock-up or other place of detention or in the custody of the person who is in charge of him, with
a view to securing his presence as a witness at the trial, or such judge or magistrate may release
89
Select target paragraph3
Add to table of contents