The high court on Tuesday ordered the judicial review of a 19-year-old murder case because of concerns the six people found guilty of the crime are innocent.

The advocate general recommended in June the case be looked at again because it centred on confessions which may have been false.
The case concerns the murder of a 56-year-old Chinese woman from Breda who was killed in her son’s restaurant in 1993.
Three men and three women aged 19 to 21 were convicted of the crime and sentenced to up to 10 years in jail. All completed their sentences.

Confessions

However, the convictions were based largely on the confessions of the three women involved, one of whom has since withdrawn her statement.
New evidence has also failed to find any link with the six who went to jail. This evidence centres on traces of two different types of blood and eye-witness statements.
The decision to reopen the case is ‘the most important first step towards the rehabilitation’ of the six defendents, their lawyers told reporters on Tuesday.