What Happens if you Breach an Interim Protection Order?
Breaching a protection order is an offence. If the respondent breaches the protection order, in terms of the Domestic Violence Act the complainant must file an affidavit with the SAPS. Everything the complainant says in the affidavit is under oath and, therefore, has to be the truth. If the complainant willfully lies under oath or makes a false statement, he/she may be criminally charged in terms of the Act, and could face a two-year prison sentence if convicted.
Where threats of death or injury have been made and where a respondent’s state of mind or mental condition warrants it, a court must order the seizure of any arms or dangerous weapons in the possession or under the control of the respondent. On receipt of the affidavit, the police will arrest the respondent if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the complainant may suffer imminent harm as a result of the alleged contravention.
In circumstances where the police feel there are insufficient grounds for arresting the respondent, they will charge the respondent with breaching the protection order and notify him/her to appear in court on a specific date, at a specified time. Once such a charge is laid, a prosecutor may not refuse to institute prosecution or withdraw the matter without the consent of the director of public prosecutions. If the respondent is found guilty of violating the protection order, a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or both, may be imposed.
Once the respondent has been arrested for breaching the protection order, the complainant may not decide to withdraw the charges. The senior public prosecutor has sole discretion to withdraw charges.
Where threats of death or injury have been made and where a respondent’s state of mind or mental condition warrants it, a court must order the seizure of any arms or dangerous weapons in the possession or under the control of the respondent. On receipt of the affidavit, the police will arrest the respondent if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the complainant may suffer imminent harm as a result of the alleged contravention.
In circumstances where the police feel there are insufficient grounds for arresting the respondent, they will charge the respondent with breaching the protection order and notify him/her to appear in court on a specific date, at a specified time. Once such a charge is laid, a prosecutor may not refuse to institute prosecution or withdraw the matter without the consent of the director of public prosecutions. If the respondent is found guilty of violating the protection order, a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or both, may be imposed.
Once the respondent has been arrested for breaching the protection order, the complainant may not decide to withdraw the charges. The senior public prosecutor has sole discretion to withdraw charges.
