SABC 2 fined R10 000

"The tribunal held that although the soapie itself did not warrant an age restriction or a classification, the recap of rather intimate kissing, implied sex, and fondling in the previous episode was of such a nature that it should have been broadcast later, or carried an advisory that the said material was about to be shown," the commission said in its ruling.

 

Cheryl Coetzer complained about the series Swartwater, broadcast on SABC 2 at 7.30pm.

 

"We do not watch this programme but we do watch the news and weather before this," she said in her complaint.

 

Coetzer said on the night of April 29 she did not change the channel immediately after the news.

 

"They showed a sex scene where a man and a woman were having sex in an alleyway. This is not on, my four-year-old grandson wanted to know what they were doing and I don't either allow my 14-year-old daughter to watch movies that have sex in them," she said.

 

The broadcaster responded by saying Coetzer was correct that there was no advisory. However, the episode was not deemed to have required one.

 

The BCCSA tribunal decided that Coetzer had good reason to complain.

 

It found that SABC 2 had contravened the broadcasting code.

 

"In the result, it is necessary for the tribunal to demonstrate its concern about the omission to broadcast a fitting warning with sufficient time for parents to take the necessary steps -- indeed, alternatively, the broadcaster could have omitted the recap altogether," it said.

 

(File photo: Gallo images)