Chef: 'Claims fabricated'

2003-09-08 16:27

Johannesburg - Fanwell Khumalo, 41, the chef who stands accused of 132 sexual offences against 42 young girls, said in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday some of the evidence against him had been fabricated by the police.

He claimed photographs and descriptions of scenes where the girls between the ages of seven and 14 years had allegedly been raped, were not admissible.

Khumalo told Judge Max Labe and two assessors that following his arrest on May 7 2001, he was not allowed to make a phone call and was taken to possible crime scenes without having consulted an attorney.

He said he was told to point at the crime scenes and then the police took photographs of him.

He said he was then forced to sign and put fingerprints on blank sheets of paper and that the police later filled in details of the "pointings out". Therefor, he claimed there were no genuine pointings out.

Khumalo also told the court he was at work when many of the crimes were committed and that he had been hit three times on the back of the head the day after his arrest.

The court will hear further evidence before ruling on the admissibility of the "pointings out".

- SAPA