Johannesburg – Former real estate agent Vicki Momberg, who was convicted in connection with a racist rant at a black police officer, has claimed that she has nightmares about the 'injustice' she endured after the incident, but she also admitted that she was wrong.
In a recorded interview with the Department of Social Development's head of probation officers Daphne Naidoo, Momberg can be heard crying and saying that she felt intimidated. She also said her privacy had been invaded during the ensuing trial.
"I feel like my privacy has been invaded...The situation is incisively intimidating... I’m under a lot of stress. I'm not going to let people walk over me like they have in the last year and a half," she was heard saying in the recording.
READ: Witnesses to be called ahead of Vicki Momberg sentencing
Momberg was convicted of four counts of crimen injuria in November last year, after she was caught on video during her rant at the police officer, in which she hurled the k-word several times. The officer had been helping her after an alleged smash-and-grab incident.
The recording of the interview was played in the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Friday, during the cross-examination of the probation officer, Takalani Sekoba.
Sekoba conducted an interview with Momberg in January, following Momberg's conviction.
Momberg's defence team had requested the assistance of the probation officer as part of pre-sentencing preparations.
'Inferior, intimidated and degraded'
But Sekoba said Momberg made her feel "inferior, intimidated and degraded". She recused herself and asked Naidoo to take over instead.
"I asked to be recused because I was emotionally drained. I can't put [into] words the experience that I had on that day. I told my mom the next day to take my daughter to school. I told my supervisor I'm not coping well," Sekoba said.
However, in the recording, Momberg told Naidoo that she was the one who felt intimidated by Sekoba.
"She is putting me under a lot of pressure. I don't feel comfortable with the whole thing. I'm not enjoying this whole thing. It's too much to handle," Momberg said, before she started crying.
'I was hysterical'
Momberg could also be heard saying that she knew what she had said was wrong. "I did it because I was beside myself... I was hysterical."
In her recommendation, Naidoo said long-term imprisonment would not be suitable for Momberg because it would not address the underlying issue.
She suggested periodical imprisonment of no less than 100 hours and no more than 2 000 hours, among others.
The case was postponed to March 20 for closing arguments.
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