Johannesburg: A 26-year-old Indian-origin man was Wednesday sentenced to 20 years in prison in South Africa for orchestrating the murder his father.
Jibraeel Mohideen was sentenced after confessing to the crime. Mohideen told the Pietermaritzburg High Court that he and his mentally-challenged twin sister had endured years of emotional abuse at the hands of his father, prompting him to hire a hit-man to kill his father.
"I was wracked with guilt and after agonising over my actions I owned up to my involvement in my father's murder to members of my family. I then handed myself over to the police and assisted them in arresting my co-perpetrators," Mohideen told the court.
Mohideen pleaded guilty alongside one of co-accused, hired hit man Zandisile Mtshali, 32, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Two other accused, who assisted in hiring the hit-man, were remanded in custody.
Motorcar dealer Mohamed Ashraf, 57, died at his residence after his throat was slit following multiple stabbing and battering with a hammer.
Judge Rishi Seegobin described Mohideen's crime as the worst sin any child could ever commit, adding that it was particularly repulsive that Mohideen had killed his own father.
Seegobin said it was disturbing that although Mohideen was old enough to have considered severing ties with his father, he opted for a terrible criminal route instead.
