Update

GEORGE NEWS - Bail for the seven men accused of assaulting and robbing Maximilian Reimann (20) from Harmony Park in Pacaltsdorp, was denied in the George Magistrate’s Court earlier today, Thursday 15 September. 

However, according to defence attorney Winston Jansen of Jansen and Samson Attorneys, they will be appealing the court’s decision. 

All the accused face a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Bail was denied on grounds of the application being a schedule 6 bail application* and that there were no exceptional circumstances to grant bail. 

The accused, who are aged between 17 and 21, remain in custody in Mossel Bay.

The attack

Reimann was attacked by a group of men in Mission Street, Pacaltsdorp, in the early hours of Saturday morning, 27 August. Was it not for a passerby, Charlotte Edwards, who found him lying next to the road later that morning, Reimann’s fate might have been worse.

According to Edwards, Reimann was nearly hypothermic when she found him and his clothes were torn off his body. He had severe injuries to his face. He was rushed to hospital and later underwent surgery to his face in the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. 

He has since been discharged and is recovering at home under the care of his mother.

The motive for the attack is still unknown.

In the case of schedule 6 bail applications, the applicant needs to show that there are exceptional circumstances that permit release on bail.