Pretoria - World Cup action on the field may be drawing to a close, but the action in South Africa's dedicated courts have not slowed down.

According to figures from the Department of Justice, the courts have dealt with 172 cases since they opened on 28 May, up until 4 July. The majority of these cases - 139 in total - have already been finalised.

There have been 104 convictions, 33 cases have been postponed, 28 withdrawn and there have been seven acquittals. Most of the cases, 45.35 percent, were in Gauteng, while 25 percent were in the Western Cape, followed by the Eastern Cape with 12.21 percent.

The Northern Cape is the only province that has managed to keep a clean record so far, with locals and tourists there not bothering the dedicated courts.

South Africans and international visitors alike have found themselves on the wrong side of the law, with 123 locals and 100 foreign nationals appearing in the dedicated courts.

Most of the cases heard by the courts - 59 of them - are theft related, with the selling of World Cup tickets (23 cases), common robbery (11 cases) and fraud (10 cases) also featuring high up on the list.

The South African government has set up 56 courts across the country, specifically to deal with World Cup related crimes.

Source: BuaNews   

Pretoria - British soccer fan Joseph Pavlos' legal woes in South Africa are officially over after he paid a fine today for trespassing into the English team's dressing room.

According to police spokeswoman Brigadier Sally de Beer, Joseph paid an admission of guilt fine of R750.

The English fan's passport was also returned to him and he is now free to attend World Cup matches, if he wishes to, police added.

Joseph made headlines locally and internationally when he found his way into the English team's dressing room after their draw with Algeria in Cape Town and allegedly criticised the player's performance.

He was arrested at the Bay Hotel in Cape Town two days after the incident and charged.

While Joseph is now a free man, the journalist accused of "orchestrating" the dressing room security breach will still have to face South African law.

Police allege that UK journalist Simon Wright planned the dressing room incident. The Sunday Mirror reporter was arrested in Cape Town on Monday night.

Wright also appeared in court today. The case against him was adjourned to 7 July and his bail of R3 000 extended.

Wright has been charged with defeating the ends of justice and flouting provisions of the Immigration Act.

Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele said Wright had admitted to harbouring and interviewing Joseph at a time when police were looking for the English fan in order to arrest him.

The journalist is also alleged to have booked luxury accommodation for Joseph using false or incorrect particulars.

Cele said the analysis of CCTV footage and initial investigations into the breach of security had led police to believe that the dressing room incident was planned and involved the cooperation of a number of individuals.

"Police strongly believe the motive was to put the world cup security in a bad light, and possibly profit from this act," he said.

According to Cele, Wright also had a seven day contract with Joseph that ensured the fan would speak only to the Sunday Mirror journalist after the incident.

Wright had written stories before the World Cup raising concerns about security in South Africa, the commissioner said.

Source: BuaNews