One of the most shocking thing that I discovered regarding the law is about the diplomatic immunity. It means that if you are a family member of a diplomat, whenever you commit a crime, you would not be punished in the host country, instead you would be sent back to your own country so your government would decide what your sentence would be. This means that they can't escape scot-free, but there are cases where countries do not take actions on law offenders from their country in order to protect the reputation of the country. Sometimes, they would just be released, which is an example of injustice. Below is an article I found about diplomatic immunity.
'Drunk diplomat's wife' kills man
Tuesday, 24 February 2009 13:26
Amanda Roestoff, Beeld
(www.news24.com) Johannesburg - The wife of a Malaysian diplomat allegedly killed a man when she collided with him as he was checking the faulty engine of his stationary vehicle on the N1 in Roodepoort early on Saturday morning.
Bystanders say the 37-year-old woman was drunk, but she cannot be prosecuted because she has diplomatic immunity.
A source at the scene of the accident said a man arrived in a vehicle with diplomatic number plates shortly after the woman had called him on the phone.
Another source saw the man removing empty liquor bottles from the boot of the woman's white Renault Clio and hiding them under his jacket.
Beeld was told by a reliable source that the woman from Florida North on the West Rand was travelling on the N1 South in the direction of 14th Avenue when the accident happened at about 01:00 on Saturday.
Hit from behind
Adonis Ndudule, 24, from Ormonde View in the south of Johannesburg, stopped a few hundred metres before the 14th Avenue offramp when the engine of his Volkswagen Beetle started giving trouble.
His neighbour's daughter, Sharon Mphofu, 22, was with him in the car.
A member of ER24's emergency services apparently passed the Beetle just before the accident and had seen the car with its flashing hazards parked in the emergency lane.
Ndudule was inspecting the engine, which is mounted in the rear of the Volkswagen Beetle, when he was hit from behind by the Clio. He died on impact.
An employee of a towing service said the driver of the Clio was so wobbly she couldn't stand on her feet and sat down on the railing next to the road.
Then she gave her cellphone to someone else and said in English: "Here! Talk to him!"
The man identified himself as her husband and ordered bystanders to immediately bring his wife home. When his request was not heeded, he arrived shortly afterwards and removed the bottles from the Clio.
A search on the eNaTIS vehicle system revealed that the Clio was registered to the Malaysian embassy.
Case of manslaughter
A member of the metro police on the scene said the woman told them she had done everything possible to avoid the collision.
"We were not allowed to arrest her at the scene - even though she may have been reckless - because she has diplomatic immunity," said Inspector Edna Mamonyane, Johannesburg' s metro police spokesperson.
A case of manslaughter was opened at the Honeydew police station on the West Rand on Sunday afternoon.
Once the investigation is complete, it will be referred to the Malaysian High Commission who will then decide what steps to take.
- Beeld
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