Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977)Chapter 10 : Release on Warning72. Accused may be released on warning in lieu of bail |
| (1) | Subject to section 4(2) of the Child Justice Act, 2008, if an accused who is eighteen years or older is in custody in respect of any offence and a police official or a court may in respect of such offence release the accused on bail under section 59 or 60, as the case may be, such police official or such court, as the case may be, may, in lieu of bail and if the offence is not, in the case of such police official, an offence referred to in Part II or Part III of Schedule 2— |
| (a) | release the accused from custody and warn him to appear before a specified court at a specified time on a specified date in connection with such offence or, as the case may be, to remain in attendance at the proceedings relating to the offence in question, and the said court may, at the time of such release or at any time thereafter, impose any condition referred to in section 62 in connection with such release; |
[Section 72(1)(a) substituted by section 7(a) of Act No. 33 of 1986]
| (b) | [Section 72(1)(b) deleted by section 99(1) of Act No. 75 of 2008] |
[Section 72(1) substituted by section 99(1) of Act No. 75 of 2008]
| (2) |
| (a) | An accused who is released under subsection (1)(a) and who fails to appear or, as the case may be, to remain in attendance at the proceedings in accordance with a warning under that paragraph, or who fails to comply with a condition imposed under subsection (1)(a), shall be guilty of an offence and liable to the punishment prescribed under subsection (4). |
| (b) | [Subsection (2)(b) deleted by section 7(c) of Act No. 33 of 1986] |
[Section 72(2) substituted by section 7(c) of Act No. 33 of 1986]
| (3) |
| (a) | A police official who releases an accused under subsection (1)(a) shall, at the time of releasing the accused, complete and hand to the accused and, in the case of subsection (1)(b), to the person in whose custody the accused is, a written notice on which shall be entered the offence in respect of which the accused is being released and the court before which and the time at which and the date on which the accused shall appear. |
| (b) | A court which releases an accused under subsection (1) shall, at the time of releasing the accused, record or cause the relevant proceedings to be recorded in full, and where such court is a magistrate's court or a regional court, any document purporting to be an extract from the record of proceedings of that court and purporting to be certified as correct by the clerk of the court and which sets out the warning relating to the court before which, the time at which and the date on which the accused is to appear or the conditions on which he was released, shall, on its mere production in any court in which the relevant charge is pending, be prima facie proof of such warning. |
[Section 72(3)(b) substituted by section 7(d) of Act No. 33 of 1986]
| (4) | The court may, if satisfied that an accused referred to in subsection (2)(a) or a person referred to in subsection (2)(b), was duly warned in terms of paragraph (a) or, as the case may be, paragraph (b) of subsection (1), and that such accused or such person has failed to comply with such warning or to comply with a condition imposed, issue a warrant for his arrest, and may, when he is brought before the court, in a summary manner enquire into his failure and, unless such accused or such person satisfies the court that his failure was not due to fault on his part, sentence him to a fine not exceeding R300 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months. |
[Section 72(4) substituted by section 7(e) of Act No. 33 of 1986]