Four white S.Africans fined for racist abuse video
Posted: 30 July 2010 1837 hrs

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BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa : Four white South African men were each fined 2,700 dollars Friday for humiliating five black housekeepers in a video against racial integration at their former university.

The 20,000-rand (2,000-euro) fine was higher than the penalty sought by the prosecution, which magistrate Mziwonke Hinxa said was meant to deter similar racist acts in the future. The four men face 12 months in prison if they fail to pay the fine.

"It sends a strong message to potential offenders of similar crimes," Hinxa said.

They made the video in 2007 as students at the University of Free State in protest at plans to integrate student housing.

One clip showed a young man apparently urinating into a bowl of stew and then serving it to the housekeepers. It ended with the words: "That, at the end of the day, is what we think of integration."

The video sparked an international scandal when it landed on the Internet in February 2008.

None of the men -- Johnny Roberts, Schalk van der Merwe, RC Malherbe and Danie Grobler -- are still at the university.

The whites-only male hostel where the video was filmed was later shut and eventually re-opened as a diversity centre to address issues of racism, sexism, xenophobia and reconciliation.

- AFP/vm