Chauke taken for tests

2003-11-02 18:01

Pretoria - The department of correctional services confirmed on Sunday that convicted armed robber Collen Chauke was treated at a provincial hospital in Pretoria last week.

Spokesperson Russell Mamabolo said he was unable to disclose what Chauke, the cash-in-transit heist mastermind, was treated for during his one-day trip to the hospital.

"We do not divulge health issues of any prisoner. All I can confirm is that he (Chauke) was taken to the prison hospital, then taken for treatment to a local hospital in Pretoria for a day before being taken back to his cell in prison.

Mamabolo's comments follow a media report that Chauke had apparently agreed to undergo a battery of tests, including a test for HIV.

The Sunday Sun reported that Chauke, who embraced Islam in 1999, had reportedly been vomiting and bleeding but refused to receive any medical attention until a Muslim priest had been called.

The report mentioned that according to Chauke's lawyer Hector Etsane, Chauke did not look "terminally ill yet."

Etsane confirmed the deterioration of his client's health in recent days, but refused to disclose the nature of his illness.

Chauke was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 2001 after being found guilty of stealing R12.6m from a depot of the SBV security company in Pretoria in October 1997.

- SAPA