Accused child killer, sister in tears in court

ACCUSED murderer and rapist Moyhdian Pangkaeker and his twin sister, Nazley Pangkaeker, broke down as further testimony and evidence was heard in the Western Cape High Court yesterday.

Pangkaeker, who faces 27 criminal charges, sobbed softly in the dock as he and his sister listened to an eight-minute phone call recording in which she begged him to return to her house in Elsies River, if he was not responsible for the disappearance of eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk.

The court heard the phone call recording made between Pangkaerker and Nazley, which was part of the efforts to trace the accused after it was alleged he was last seen with Tazne, walking in the direction of Parow Station.

Listening to the recording, Nazley teared up as she relived the moment when she had to beg her brother to come back home as she was being harassed by the community that wanted to know his whereabouts.

According to Nazley’s testimony, Pangkaeker had pitched up at her doorstep during November 2019 with his biological daughter and “her children”.

At the time, Nazley was unaware that the youngest of the three children, a three-month-old baby, was born from a relationship between Pangkaeker and his daughter.

“When I asked her about the father of the child, she said the father had died and they arrived (at my house)...they said they came from Durban, with an Uber,” said Nazley. According to Nazley, they had stayed with her for just a week before they left without any notice.

Recalling the day after Tazne went missing, on February 8, 2020, Nazley said three women had come to her home looking for Pangkaeker, but she told them she had last seen him in November.

“They asked me if he didn’t bring a child there and I said no. They asked for a photo of him and I didn’t have one as I had lost my cellphone…I asked my cousin for a picture of him and she sent it to me,” said Nazley.

Earlier this week, Pangkaeker pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The matter continues.