A Parow man who claimed COVID-19 may be spread by community swab tests intends making representations to the National Prosecuting Authority, writes Jenni Evans for News24.
Representations are among the options that an accused can take in the course of their case moving through court, and they typically motivate why they should not be tried.
Stephen Birch was arrested in the early days of the pandemic, when claims and counter-claims about the spread of the virus were rife, says the News24 article published on 16 October 2020.
Birch made the claim in a video that the testing swabs may spread the virus during community testing initiatives.
He called on people to not allow community testing teams and the police into their home for the test. He claimed that this was being used to spread the virus globally.
He also called COVID-19 a ‘total lie’, claimed that 5G cell phone masts would kill people worldwide, and that people would be microchipped for movement monitoring.
According to News24, Birch is charged under Regulation 11 (5) of the Disaster Management Act, regarding an intention to deceive people about COVID-19. The contravention relates to an alleged intention to deceive people about COVID-19, the infection status of any person, and any measure by the government to prevent COVID-19.
He is out on a warning and will return to court on 27 November.
[link url="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/man-who-claimed-covid-19-might-spread-through-testing-swabs-to-make-representations-to-npa-20201016"]Man who claimed Covid-19 might spread through testing swabs to make representations to NPA[/link]