Cape Town - An Atlantis father released from prison on Thursday arrived minutes too late at the Western Cape High Court to see his son taken away to serve 22 years in prison on Monday.

When Michael Petersen, 58, arrived for the sentencing of his son Michael Jonkers, 28, in court 2, it was empty and Judge Hayley Slingers had already handed down his sentence.

He thought the court started at 10am, and was unaware that Slingers started with proceedings earlier.

“I’m so disappointed that I didn’t have the opportunity to say goodbye to my son. I haven’t seen my son in three years. I was released from Malmesbury prison after serving two years for assault. Before that I also served 13 years for murder and was a gang leader in prison. When I split up with his mother, my son started mixing with the wrong crowd. I feel bad that I wasn’t there for him," Petersen said.

"I’m really sorry that I’ve set the wrong example to him. We, as parents, are open books to our children and they must learn from that.”