There is a logged and countersigned process for receiving exhibits at the Forensic Service Lab, involving a clerk and a counter signature for everything received.
“when it is logged in with the Forensic Service Lab, is there a clerk who then receives it, and so there is a counter signature for everything that is received”
Small tears were discovered in some evidence bags when handed over at the Forensic Service Lab, likely caused by multiple movements of the bags from crime scene to Booysens to College to Forensics.
“there were some bags with small tears in them”
The tears in the evidence bags were too small for the bricks inside to have fit through, and the Forensic lab did not accept exhibits if bags were compromised or improperly sealed, resealing them into new bags without damage.
“the tears were so small that the bricks would not fit through at a tear like that ... they refuse to accept it ... they actually resealed these into other bags that were ... not have any damage to them and it was then accepted as such at Forensics”
Approximately eight of the evidence bags were affected by this re-sealing process replacing them with new sealed bags with new exhibit numbers.
“And I think there were about eight such bags ... they resealed it and we handed it in”
